misfortune

noun mis·for·tune \ ˌmis-ˈfȯr-chən \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of misfortune

1 a : an event or conjunction of events that causes an unfortunate or distressing result : bad luck

by misfortune he fell into bad company

had the misfortune to break his leg

b : an unhappy situation

always ready to help people in misfortune

2 : a distressing or unfortunate incident or event

misfortunes never come singly

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Examples of misfortune in a Sentence

a victim of economic misfortune
She endured her misfortune without complaint.
It was my misfortune to be chosen first.
Her injury was a great misfortune.
He blamed the party's misfortunes on poor leadership.

Recent Examples of misfortune from the Web

He and fellow Frenchman Simon Pagenaud dominated the first 60 laps, then both had the misfortune to make contact with mechanics when leaving their pits—thankfully neither resulted in injuries like the Ferrari incident.

— jonathan m. gitlin, Ars Technica, "Formula 1 on ESPN sees massive improvement; IndyCar thrilled in Phoenix," 9 Apr. 2018
Helen, meanwhile, puts her do-gooder impulses to work trying to help a working-class stiff, Leonard Bast (Joseph Quinn), whose interactions with the family, despite her good intentions, only seem to keep magnifying his misfortune.

— brian lowry, CNN, "'Howards End' expands novel into splendid Starz miniseries," 6 Apr. 2018
Yet while black holes are known for destroying and compressing everything that has the misfortune to fall within their range, Hawking was always astonishingly creative.

— ryan p. smith, Smithsonian, "The Memory of Stephen Hawking Endures in Bold Black Hole Research Efforts," 3 Apr. 2018
All the while, these characters exhibit the very human idea of explaining their misfortune, their abandonment, and their loneliness as their own fault.

— alex abad-santos, Vox, "What it’s like to watch Angels in America in an age of making America great again," 30 Mar. 2018
The Germans gave us schadenfreude, or experiencing pleasure in the misfortune of others, and my personal favorite: weltschmerz.

— john warner, chicagotribune.com, "Got a bad case of tsundoku? Don't let it get you down.," 28 Mar. 2018
Even on their own, the two planets are astrology’s favorite villains, responsible for such misfortunes as fist-fights, traffic tickets, going to jail, and getting yelled at and quitting your job in a huff.

— refinery29.com, "Your Horoscope This Week," 25 Mar. 2018
But a series of political misfortunes—including Russian use of online platforms to meddle in the 2016 election—have diminished the tech industry’s standing in Washington, and opened the door to Wednesday’s lopsided loss.

— john d. mckinnon, WSJ, "Senate Approves Bill Limiting Immunity for Internet Firms in Sex-Trafficking Cases," 21 Mar. 2018
Unfortunately, those Rams had the great misfortune of playing Vince Lombardi's Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs in the game before the famed Ice Bowl.

— jim reineking, USA TODAY, "Greatest defensive line units in NFL history: 2018 Eagles have work cut out for them," 20 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'misfortune.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of misfortune

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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misfortune Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of misfortune

misfortune, mischance, adversity, mishap mean adverse fortune or an instance of this. misfortune may apply to either the incident or conjunction of events that is the cause of an unhappy change of fortune or to the ensuing state of distress.