Entry Word: unfortunate

Function: adjective

Meaning: 1 bringing about ruin or misfortune <an unfortunate chain of events destroyed the business> — see fatal 1
2 having, prone to, or marked by bad luck <up to that point in her life she had been unfortunate in love> — see unlucky
3 of a kind to cause great distress <an unfortunate choice of words that would later prove to be embarrassing for the talk show host> — see regrettable