as in unhappy
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
Romeo and Juliet are among literature's most famous star-crossed lovers
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Recent Examples of star-crossed
The sweeping romance set across three decades of passion, loss, and hope in Beirut stars Hassan Akil and Mounia Akl as Nino and Yasmina, star-crossed lovers bound by a magnetic relationship, one an eternal optimist and the other an impulsive pragmatist.
—
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
In one scene, Edward likens the couple's star-crossed romance to a lion falling in love with a lamb.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, star-crossed lovers Ellen (Harriet Slater) and Brian (Jamie Roy) managed to plot an escape of their own — but not before getting some major blood on their hands.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025
The star-crossed tend to double down on superstition.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
Lesbian star-crossed lovers à la Bonnie and Clyde?
—Quispe López, Them., 29 Aug. 2025
The duo play star-crossed BFFs in the epic romance, which Goldstein co-wrote with William Bridges.
—Alamin Yohannes, EW.com, 27 Aug. 2025
So ends one of the most controversial and star-crossed investigations in history.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 11 Jan. 2025
Flashback: Boeing's Starliner was star-crossed even before the inaugural crewed mission earlier this year.
—Avery Lotz, Axios, 30 Sep. 2024
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
In one scene, Edward likens the couple's star-crossed romance to a lion falling in love with a lamb.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, star-crossed lovers Ellen (Harriet Slater) and Brian (Jamie Roy) managed to plot an escape of their own — but not before getting some major blood on their hands.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025
The star-crossed tend to double down on superstition.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
Lesbian star-crossed lovers à la Bonnie and Clyde?
—Quispe López, Them., 29 Aug. 2025
The duo play star-crossed BFFs in the epic romance, which Goldstein co-wrote with William Bridges.
—Alamin Yohannes, EW.com, 27 Aug. 2025
So ends one of the most controversial and star-crossed investigations in history.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 11 Jan. 2025
Flashback: Boeing's Starliner was star-crossed even before the inaugural crewed mission earlier this year.
—Avery Lotz, Axios, 30 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for star-crossed
Adjective
-
Pauline Collins, the exuberant British actress who inspired women — and men, too — to do something to change their unhappy lives with her Oscar-nominated and Olivier- and Tony-winning performances in Shirley Valentine, has died.—
Lisa de los Reyes,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Nov. 2025
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That distaste didn’t hurt Spanberger and her ticket, because 18% of those unhappy voters backed her anyway.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Liverpool were competitive in the first half, and perhaps unfortunate to see Virgil van Dijk’s equaliser ruled out for interference from an offside position, but City pressed home their advantage through the brilliance of left-winger Jeremy Doku.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The story takes place at a grand country house where the guests have an unfortunate habit of dying, or nearly dying, under seemingly unrelated circumstances.—
Anna Russell,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Vasyanovych plays Roman, a luckless director who’s out of work and trying to shoot his latest film in a country whose dwindling population is still traumatized by the war.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The spotlight increased after a disastrous interview with CBS to promote the legendary coach’s book.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
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Second goal breaks Charlotte’s back The second half opened with a disastrous sequence for Charlotte.—
Colin Cerniglia,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
And the Bills-dominant crowd at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium howled with derision for the hapless Fins.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Many immigrant novels contain similar scenes, in which hapless characters embrace improbable visions of America, only to be chastened upon arrival.—
Tope Folarin,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The latter more than held his own, though, allowing four hits and three runs across 6 2/3 innings before leaving as the hard-luck loser.—
Joe Kozlowski,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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The two formerly hard-luck performers, each previously divorced with children, blended their families and achieved enough professional success to open for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder in Milwaukee.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In this case, the doomed star must have been massive (about 30 times the Sun’s mass), which made the flare exceptionally powerful.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Nov. 2025
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Donald Erickson and his crew to brave a gale-force storm to search for survivors of the doomed SS Edmund Fitzgerald.—
Frank Witsil,
Freep.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Star-crossed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/star-crossed. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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