unfortunate

adjective un·for·tu·nate \ ˌən-ˈfȯrch-nət , -ˈfȯr-chə- \

|Updated on: 30 Jul 2018

Examples: unfortunate in a Sentence

Definition of unfortunate

1 a : not favored by fortune : unsuccessful, unlucky

an unfortunate young man

b : marked or accompanied by or resulting in misfortune

an unfortunate decision

2 a : infelicitous, unsuitable

an unfortunate choice of words

b : deplorable, regrettable

an unfortunate lack of taste

See unfortunate defined for English-language learners

See unfortunate defined for kids

Examples of unfortunate in a Sentence

She was unfortunate enough to have been chosen as an example.
an unfortunate chain of events
It's unfortunate that he couldn't be here for your birthday.
He has an unfortunate tendency to show up late.
an unfortunate choice of words

Recent Examples of unfortunate from the Web

This is all unfortunate in that this week shapes up as one of the most glorious times in Croatian sports history, one that the team overwhelmingly deserves after its series of fine performances.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "Croatian soccer finds itself involved in another two-faced controversy," 9 July 2018
In 2014, there were some unfortunate incidents with drunken college students from nearby Keene State that led to the Keene Pumpkin Festival to be cancelled.

— catherine strawn, Country Living, "17 Amazing Halloween Celebrations Across America," 11 July 2018
Tables were lifted and pounded against the floor; jackets were torn off and swung in the air; a dogpile was formed, with José’s friend Pedro being the unfortunate one caught at the bottom.

— candace rose rardon, Longreads, "The Country Where Fútbol Comes First," 10 July 2018
As for the unfortunate patient mentioned in the case report?

— amanda macmillan, Health.com, "A Fish Pedicure Caused a Woman's Toenails to Stop Growing and Fall Off, According to Her Doctor," 5 July 2018
Misleading broadsides against the GDPR are unfortunate because the U.S. could benefit from having a single, comprehensive health privacy law.

— joseph jerome, STAT, "Look to the EU’s new privacy law as a model for replacing the ‘confusing patchwork’ in the U.S.," 18 June 2018
In the statement Wednesday, police said the incidents were unfortunate and the deaths were tragedies.

— ian cummings, glenn e. rice and joe robertson, kansascity, "KCPD fatal shootings: Man in downtown fight pointed gun, woman with sword ran at cops," 20 June 2018
This is an easy reference and will always be unfortunate for the team.

— michelle r. martinelli, For The Win, "How to fake your soccer knowledge throughout the 2018 World Cup," 15 June 2018
Loose candy needed to be kept in lidded jars after an unfortunate incident involving peanut butter cups.

— lauren palmer, Curbed, "When a dog is not just part of the family, but part of the house," 15 June 2018

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

First Known Use of unfortunate

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

unfortunate Synonyms

unfortunate

noun

Definition of unfortunate

: an unfortunate person

See unfortunate defined for English-language learners

Examples of unfortunate in a Sentence

a group of poor unfortunates

Recent Examples of unfortunate from the Web

But that gentle slope has been known to cause strollers and wheelchairs to roll off as well, not to mention the intoxicated, the disoriented, wrestlers, and other unfortunates.

— william finnegan, The New Yorker, "Can Andy Byford Save the Subways?," 2 July 2018
These unfortunates spent hours each day chewing tough roots, choking down leaves and stems, munching on tiny berries and gorging on rare windfalls of meat, bone marrow and worms.

— nathan h. lents, WSJ, "The Botch of the Human Body," 13 Apr. 2018
As the threads of society break down, the poor unfortunates who survived the initial barrage don't so much live as merely exist in the post-apocalyptic ruins.

— peter bright, Ars Technica, "Sleep no more: Threads is coming to Blu-ray," 25 Jan. 2018
There are still unfortunates among us who have yet to lean forward and squint in disbelief at the grainy YouTube images capturing Tharpe, necklines high and hemlines low, coaxing the first, fiery licks from her Gibson SG.

— andrea simakis, cleveland.com, "'Marie and Rosetta' brings the music and moxie of Rock Hall inductee Sister Rosetta Tharpe to Cleveland Play House (Preview)," 21 Jan. 2018
Humor is generally the province of trolls; think of the motley assemblage of unfortunates in the slovenly writers’ room on 30 Rock, and that gives you an accurate picture of the setting in which most good jokes and satire are created in America.

— david kamp, vanityfair.com, "The Years with Graydon," 7 Sep. 2017
But before that, Wilkerson would spend that year haranguing unfortunates in the Hollywood community who would go on to become targets of the blacklist, often losing their careers.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "The Columnist Who Shaped Hollywood’s Most Destructive Witch Hunt," 28 July 2017
Worse yet, the percentage of such unfortunates who are unrepresented by counsel has skyrocketed in recent decades.

— jed s. rakoff, Slate Magazine, "Do Courtroom Lawyers Make a Difference?," 31 July 2017
But before that, Wilkerson would spend that year haranguing unfortunates in the Hollywood community who would go on to become targets of the blacklist, often losing their careers.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "The Hollywood Columnist Who Shaped Its Most Destructive Witch Hunt," 28 July 2017