Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Having bad luck; unlucky.
- adjective Characterized by, bringing, or causing misfortune.
- adjective Regrettable; deplorable.
- noun A victim of bad luck.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Not fortunate; not prosperous; unlucky; unhappy: as, an unfortunate adventure; an unfortunate man.
- Synonyms Unsuccessful, ill-fated, ill-starred, disastrous, calamitous. See
fortunate . - noun One who or that which is unfortunate; one who has fallen into misfortune or misery.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Not fortunate; unsuccessful; not prosperous; unlucky; attended with misfortune; unhappy
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective not
favored byfortune - adjective
marked or accompanied by or resulting inmisfortune - noun An
unlucky person .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective unsuitable or regrettable
- adjective not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune
- adjective not auspicious; boding ill
- noun a person who suffers misfortune
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Had he not said the unfortunate had a claim on all honorable men, and surely he was a man an _unfortunate_ might apply to, if any man was?
The New England Magazine, Volume 1, No. 5, Bay State Monthly, Volume 4, No. 5, May, 1886 Various
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'A most unfortunate circumstance -- a most _unfortunate_ circumstance.
England, My England 1907
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_unfortunate_ client for whom it is my privilege to appear, "said a young barrister, making his first essay in Westminster Hall --" the unfortunate client, my lord, for whom I appear -- hem! hem!
A Book About Lawyers John Cordy Jeaffreson 1866
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And one of the candidates seeking the position made some, what I call unfortunate remarks.
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He warns of what he calls unfortunate consequences for Iran if that country continues its nuclear defiance.
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WHITFIELD: Kerry criticized what he called the unfortunate habit of Americans to see the world through an American's lens.
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WHITFIELD: Kerry criticized what he called the unfortunate habit of Americans to see the world through an American's lens.
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WHITFIELD: Kerry criticized what he calls the unfortunate habit of Americans to see the world through an American lens.
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WHITFIELD: Kerry criticized what he called the unfortunate habit of Americans to see the world through an American's lens.
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She showed her devotion by taking no interest whatever in her husband's land schemes; by forbidding Eugene to play football at school for fear he might be injured; by impressing Adele with the necessity for vivacity and modishness because of what she called her unfortunate lack of beauty.
Half Portions Edna Ferber 1926
yarb commented on the word unfortunate
In the Borough Library the medical dictionaries are mostly used by unfortunates looking up their maladies.
- Peter Reading, C, 1984
July 4, 2008