misadventure

noun

mis·​ad·​ven·​ture ˌmi-səd-ˈven-chər 

: misfortune, mishap

Synonyms of misadventure

• misfortune
• tragedy

Examples of misadventure in a Sentence

His vacation turned into a series of misadventures.

a string of financial misadventures eventually left him broke

Recent Examples on the Web

There are his misadventures as a quiet chronicler of wild talents like Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Lynyrd Skynyrd and just about every valuable rocker of the 1970s — the golden gods in rock’s possibly most golden age. —Jem Aswad, Variety, 16 Dec. 2025

After all, a misadventure is still an adventure. —Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 16 Dec. 2025

The Brookings Institution actually tracked 26,511 of these misadventures, including comical attempts to get rid of the folks who guard our nuclear weapons, protect us from Ebola and avian flu and inspect our food. —Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025

Almost five years later, that bet has become one of the most expensive misadventures in tech. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 5 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English mesaventure, from Anglo-French, from mesavenir to turn out badly, from mes- mis- + avenir to happen, from Latin advenire — more at adventure

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing misadventure

• death by misadventure

Rhymes for misadventure

• peradventure
• adventure
• debenture
• indenture
• bencher
• denture
• quencher
• trencher
• venture

Kids Definition

misadventure

noun

mis·​ad·​ven·​ture ˌmis-əd-ˈven-chər 

: misfortune sense 2

Legal Definition

misadventure

noun

mis·​ad·​ven·​ture ˌmi-səd-ˈven-chər 

: an accident that causes serious injury or death to a person and that does not involve negligence, wrongful purpose, or unlawful conduct