as in unfortunate
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
a hard-luck ball club that never could get the breaks it needed
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Recent Examples of hard-luck
Ava Goodman was the hard-luck loser for West Hills (8-4-1).
—
Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Apr. 2025
Pattinson plays Mickey Barnes, a hard-luck guy who has a job that kills him over and over again, getting printed out again after every death.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2025
Whether meeting a bad fate while trying to fix the ship or dying several times in vaccine trials (RIP Mickeys 12 to 16) our hard-luck main man navigates it all while being held in contempt by everyone around him besides his steely girlfriend Nasha (Naomi Ackie).
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2025
While Michigan State is overwhelmingly likely to clinch the conference regular season title (the Spartans host Penn State this weekend), a sweep by either Ohio State or Minnesota this weekend would wrap up second place, and the right to host hard-luck Notre Dame in round one.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 20 Feb. 2025
While the Chiefs have been consistently strong, with some remarkable good fortune this season and continued horseshoe following them, the Bills have suffered some severe hard-luck losses including to the Chiefs in the recent playoff years.
—Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
And after a hard-luck start to his career, Bateman getting in the end zone has become the ultimate good omen for the Ravens, who will face the Buffalo Bills Sunday night at Highmark Stadium in the AFC divisional round.
—Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
Ole Miss finished a hard-luck 5-6 with its final five losses coming by one score.
—Scott Dochterman, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025
His record was a hard-luck 139-97, but even so, only Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia had more wins in those seasons.
—Tyler Kepner, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Apr. 2025
Pattinson plays Mickey Barnes, a hard-luck guy who has a job that kills him over and over again, getting printed out again after every death.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2025
Whether meeting a bad fate while trying to fix the ship or dying several times in vaccine trials (RIP Mickeys 12 to 16) our hard-luck main man navigates it all while being held in contempt by everyone around him besides his steely girlfriend Nasha (Naomi Ackie).
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2025
While Michigan State is overwhelmingly likely to clinch the conference regular season title (the Spartans host Penn State this weekend), a sweep by either Ohio State or Minnesota this weekend would wrap up second place, and the right to host hard-luck Notre Dame in round one.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 20 Feb. 2025
While the Chiefs have been consistently strong, with some remarkable good fortune this season and continued horseshoe following them, the Bills have suffered some severe hard-luck losses including to the Chiefs in the recent playoff years.
—Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
And after a hard-luck start to his career, Bateman getting in the end zone has become the ultimate good omen for the Ravens, who will face the Buffalo Bills Sunday night at Highmark Stadium in the AFC divisional round.
—Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
Ole Miss finished a hard-luck 5-6 with its final five losses coming by one score.
—Scott Dochterman, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025
His record was a hard-luck 139-97, but even so, only Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia had more wins in those seasons.
—Tyler Kepner, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-luck
Adjective
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None of his previous work has been released in the U.S., which is unfortunate because Demoustier (brother of the talented actress Anaïs) is one of those rare French filmmakers who can blend suspense with perceptive writing and characterization, resulting in artsy thrillers that dig deep.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2025
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The coworker that went through this in particular took two more weeks unpaid, which in my opinion is also incredibly unfortunate.—
Jordan Fennell,
Hartford Courant,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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Their presidential candidate, Erika Meza, a 25-year veteran teacher from the Southeast Side, is unhappy with what CTU has come to symbolize.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2025
-
However, the Palestinians are unhappy with the speed of FIFA’s inquiries.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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The Soviet Union covered its mistake by renaming the spacecraft: instead of becoming one of the Venera missions to Venus, the hapless spacecraft was designed Kosmos, the USSR’s catchall for its spacecraft in Earth orbit.—
Kiona N. Smith,
Forbes.com,
7 May 2025
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But all that has only fortified a character who went from hapless brother-in-law to inarguably the most evolved one of the bunch.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard-luck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-luck. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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