as in ordeal
a negative event or circumstance that is common to a particular setting or situation and is usually beyond one's control
The vicissitudes of medical school proved too much for the anxious student.
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Recent Examples of vicissitude
People who pay attention to the vicissitudes of Tesla CEO Elon Musk know that the man is not always serious on Twitter.
—
Aarian Marshall, Wired, 10 May 2020
The vicissitudes of history always challenge us in new and often confounding ways; that’s in the nature of things.
—Jon Meacham, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2020
All of the biggest corporate mergers, the deals that determine the vicissitudes of our global markets, happen within their walls.
—Rachel Epstein, Marie Claire, 30 Mar. 2020
Sport is usually a constant -- a field, court, track or course that is resistant to the vicissitudes of the world around us.
—George Ramsay, CNN, 12 Mar. 2020
See All Example Sentences for vicissitude
Aarian Marshall, Wired, 10 May 2020
The vicissitudes of history always challenge us in new and often confounding ways; that’s in the nature of things.
—Jon Meacham, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2020
All of the biggest corporate mergers, the deals that determine the vicissitudes of our global markets, happen within their walls.
—Rachel Epstein, Marie Claire, 30 Mar. 2020
Sport is usually a constant -- a field, court, track or course that is resistant to the vicissitudes of the world around us.
—George Ramsay, CNN, 12 Mar. 2020
See All Example Sentences for vicissitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vicissitude
Noun
-
Although prosecutors dropped all criminal trespassing charges, students say the ordeal left them traumatized, diminished their work ethic and deteriorated their mental health.—
Lily Kepner,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
-
What began as a lighthearted moment among friends turned into a months-long ordeal for Deborah Cobb of Seattle, when cartwheels on the beach left her unable to see.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 July 2025
Noun
-
Garber did sympathize with the recent gauntlet that Miami has run, playing four Club World Cup games and five MLS matches in the span of 35 days.—
Jeff Rueter,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
-
Now the Red Sox return home after going 2-4 on the road trip coming out of the All-Star break, a gauntlet that saw the club measure themselves against two of baseball’s best teams.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
24 July 2025
Noun
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When a child is harmed, her parent, in scrambling to make sense of her family’s sorrow and misfortune, may settle on blaming the person closest at hand.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
7 July 2025
-
Some shook their legs nervously, others gave death glares to folks with the misfortune of sitting on creaky chairs.—
Omkar Khandekar,
NPR,
8 June 2025
Noun
-
The policy, while inevitably controversial, was meant to correct for the nearly fifty years of brutal privations that Black South Africans endured under apartheid.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
1 June 2025
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But whereas the first generation of Chinese entrepreneurs grew up poor and were happy to wring a livelihood from cheap imitations, today’s tech graduates were spared the privations of their parents and yearn for something more meaningful.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
29 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vicissitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vicissitude. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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