ˌən-ˈfȯrch-nət
1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
an unfortunate chain of events destroyed the business
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unhappy
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
up to that point in her life she had been unfortunate in love
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in tragic
of a kind to cause great distress
an unfortunate choice of words that would later prove to be embarrassing for the talk show host
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of unfortunate
The result is an unfortunate—and unnecessary—digital divide that significantly impacts the lives of people with disabilities, leaving them at a disadvantage in nearly every facet of society.
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Dekel Skoop, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
The first was the unfortunate accident where a pedestrian, jaywalking, was struck by a car driven by a human and thrown into the path of a Cruise vehicle that could not stop in time.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 12 Dec. 2024
Putting four question marks after Thom Yorke’s name on the poster, apparently at Yorke’s behest, was an unfortunate choice that led to a lot of confusion about whether a band (Radiohead, perhaps?) would be making an unannounced appearance.
—Al Shipley, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024
There was a misery montage of balls dropping… which again, is an unfortunate phrasing.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for unfortunate 
Dekel Skoop, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
The first was the unfortunate accident where a pedestrian, jaywalking, was struck by a car driven by a human and thrown into the path of a Cruise vehicle that could not stop in time.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 12 Dec. 2024
Putting four question marks after Thom Yorke’s name on the poster, apparently at Yorke’s behest, was an unfortunate choice that led to a lot of confusion about whether a band (Radiohead, perhaps?) would be making an unannounced appearance.
—Al Shipley, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024
There was a misery montage of balls dropping… which again, is an unfortunate phrasing.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for unfortunate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfortunate
Adjective
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This would signal the end of Alex Bregman's career with the Astros. Houston would get a solution at first base following a few years of disastrous play at the position.Gord Magill, Newsweek, 20 Dec. 2024
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The Chargers ended an otherwise disastrous first half against the Denver Broncos with a rare fair catch free kick from Cameron Dicker that cut the Chargers deficit to 21-13 entering the locker room.Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Some artists and publishers are unhappy with the way their content is being scraped freely by companies like OpenAI and Google to train their large language models — AI models trained on huge quantities of data to generate humanlike responses.Ryan Browne, CNBC, 17 Dec. 2024
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Cronin — who had to cancel some summer shows this year due to unspecified health issues — further acknowledges that there’s acrimony between he and Hall, and he’s been unhappy with some of the social media discourse blaming him for the end of the REO Speedwagon name.Gary Graff, Billboard, 16 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The coroner’s report into the death of British TV doctor Michael Mosley has revealed further details into the tragic final moments of the popular presenter and writer on a Greek island holiday.Caroline Frost, Deadline, 22 Dec. 2024
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Recent shows have typically encouraged viewers to root for the women at their center: HBO’s House of the Dragon renders its central former friends turned sworn enemies as tragic, not malicious.Emma Stefansky, The Atlantic, 21 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Turner, 40, was sentenced in Kenton County Circuit Court on Monday to 12½ years in prison for her role in the August 2023 fatal shooting of 23-year-old Seth Burns.Quinlan Bentley, The Courier-Journal, 19 Dec. 2024
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The report was released a day after a fatal school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, which left one student and one teacher dead, and six others injured, along with the suspect.Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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SiriusXM has been grappling with subscriber losses and unfavorable demographic shifts.Yun Li, CNBC, 20 Dec. 2024
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Meanwhile, roughly half of Americans have a somewhat or very unfavorable view of Musk, which is also similar to the amount of Americans who view Trump negatively.Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near unfortunate
Cite this Entry
“Unfortunate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfortunate. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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