1
as in unfortunate
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
the unlucky campers had rain all week I'm so unlucky I don't bother to play the lottery an unlucky throw of the dice
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tragic
of a kind to cause great distress
the settlers made the unlucky decision to cross the dangerous mountain pass in the middle of winter
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Recent Examples of unlucky
Nigerian Imuran Rofiat was unlucky not to level the scores when her left-wing cross hit the inside of the Arsenal goalpost.
—
Asif Burhan, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Pitted against the unforgettably evil Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), a sadist who drugs and abuses the unlucky patients in her care, McMurphy’s stand against the oppressive powers that be is tragic and poignant and spoke to the spirit of a time in which so many felt misunderstood.
—Christina Newland, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Cultural influences can play a role, too, and some numbers are considered lucky or unlucky in different traditions.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
But the scope and breadth of the subpoenas — which demand everything from text messages to bank statements to phone records — has a lot of folks scratching their heads, especially those unlucky enough to have been served one.
—Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unlucky
Asif Burhan, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Pitted against the unforgettably evil Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), a sadist who drugs and abuses the unlucky patients in her care, McMurphy’s stand against the oppressive powers that be is tragic and poignant and spoke to the spirit of a time in which so many felt misunderstood.
—Christina Newland, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Cultural influences can play a role, too, and some numbers are considered lucky or unlucky in different traditions.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
But the scope and breadth of the subpoenas — which demand everything from text messages to bank statements to phone records — has a lot of folks scratching their heads, especially those unlucky enough to have been served one.
—Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unlucky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unlucky
Adjective
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Therefore, there are some unfortunate parallels between young Gen Z needing to sacrifice wages due to wavering job opportunities and millennials graduating into the Great Recession.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
16 Sep. 2025
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In today's volatile business climate, layoffs have become an unfortunate reality across industries.—
Caroline Castrillon,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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And these are -- these are very tragic circumstances that impact all of us.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Sep. 2025
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Before Experience Hendrix After Hendrix’s tragic death, production of the guitarist’s music was in the hands of his allegedly exploitative manager, Michael Jeffery who died in a mysterious 1973 plane crash.—
Mike Alleyne Ph.D,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Kybella can be used as an alternative to surgery for patients who are unhappy with fat under their chin, also known as submental fullness, and have not seen improvement with diet and exercise, according to the manufacturers.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
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Folks felt exposed or excluded or some unhappy combination of both.—
Andrew Pasquier,
Them.,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unlucky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unlucky. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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