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
In May, Kohan, 32, opened up to PEOPLE about season 4's emotional twists and urged Cal and Maggie fans not to give up hope on the star-crossed couple just yet.
—
Sabienna Bowman,
PEOPLE,
11 June 2026
Earlier this year, Quinn pounced on the opportunity to cast Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams as star-crossed fae princes from feuding kingdoms who (spoiler) have been knocking boots in secret.
—
Charles Pulliam-Moore,
The Verge,
1 June 2026
The legacy of nuclear propulsion is deep and star-crossed.
—
David W. Brown,
Scientific American,
31 Mar. 2026
The star-crossed extra twist, of course, was that only days after the national-title game the rules changed to allow the dunk again.
—
Kansas City Star,
28 Mar. 2026
The best bet is that SpaceX proves a scientific triumph, and star-crossed as an stock.
—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
8 Mar. 2026
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie lead the series as the star-crossed, puck-smashing Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov.
—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Feb. 2026
Yes, Netflix's Regency-era romance drama (Season 4 Part 1 now streaming) has returned for a new year of lustful glances, hopelessly star-crossed lovers and absolutely absurd balls for a fourth go-round, this time with a story all about the second Bridgerton son, Benedict (Luke Thompson).
—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
The Vikings have begun a new year with yet another quarterback quandary, a familiar scenario for this star-crossed franchise.
—
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026
Sabienna Bowman,
PEOPLE,
11 June 2026
Earlier this year, Quinn pounced on the opportunity to cast Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams as star-crossed fae princes from feuding kingdoms who (spoiler) have been knocking boots in secret.
—
Charles Pulliam-Moore,
The Verge,
1 June 2026
The legacy of nuclear propulsion is deep and star-crossed.
—
David W. Brown,
Scientific American,
31 Mar. 2026
The star-crossed extra twist, of course, was that only days after the national-title game the rules changed to allow the dunk again.
—
Kansas City Star,
28 Mar. 2026
The best bet is that SpaceX proves a scientific triumph, and star-crossed as an stock.
—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
8 Mar. 2026
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie lead the series as the star-crossed, puck-smashing Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov.
—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Feb. 2026
Yes, Netflix's Regency-era romance drama (Season 4 Part 1 now streaming) has returned for a new year of lustful glances, hopelessly star-crossed lovers and absolutely absurd balls for a fourth go-round, this time with a story all about the second Bridgerton son, Benedict (Luke Thompson).
—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
The Vikings have begun a new year with yet another quarterback quandary, a familiar scenario for this star-crossed franchise.
—
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for star-crossed
Adjective
-
The decade was an unhappy panorama of inflation, gas shortages, military humiliation, and revelations of political corruption.
-
On Tuesday, Paul urged Americans who are unhappy with the justices’ ruling to support his proposal.
Adjective
-
As attendees were escorted out of the Great American State Fair on Sunday because of inclement weather, guests noticed an unfortunate typo displayed on a digital billboard at the National Mall.
-
They should be trained not to ask a bunch of questions about the medical condition, express doubt, comment that the timing is unfortunate or share private information with co-workers.
Adjective
-
The one in which his tiny team of negotiators surrendered to the radicals ruling that luckless nation.
-
Any one of those locations could have allowed the heat of reentry to burn through the aluminum alloy walls of the spacecraft, killing any luckless crew that may have been inside, in much the kind of reentry breakup that doomed the shuttle Columbia and its seven-person crew in 2003.
Adjective
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The last time Rushing caught Ohtani, the pitcher took over pitch-calling after a disastrous second inning against the Twins last week.
-
Since his disastrous tenure with the New York Yankees from 2016 to 2022, which included a suspension for violating MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy, Chapman has worked to turn around his career.
Adjective
-
Rather than trying to get past security and plant malware on your system, phishing sites do their best to trick you, the hapless user, into giving away your credentials.
-
Japan scored twice in each half and kept a hapless Tunisia down to a shot apiece either side of the break.
Adjective
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All the usual fun Indy stuff is here – Nazis, treasured artifacts – though the bantering chemistry between Ford's hard-luck hero and Sean Connery as his grumpy dad is off-the-hook spectacular.
-
For The Times) Boosted by a massive influx of cash from rental giant Airbnb, some of McKinney’s ads played up his hard-luck upbringing in one of New Jersey’s most violent cities.
Adjective
-
George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg portrayed Gloucester fisherman on the doomed Andrea Gail.
-
Their desperate hope, their cruel denial still weigh on this nation’s soul 87 years later, though most Americans only caught glimpses of the doomed passengers through news reels.
Cite this Entry
“Star-crossed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/star-crossed. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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