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
The Oilers went back to Connor Ingram in goal after a hard-luck overtime loss for Tristan Jarry in Game 4.
—
Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 29 Apr. 2026
There’s some dark subject matter, and some hard-luck people on the fringes.
—New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
For Coronado, the hard-luck loser was freshman Quinn Smock, who pitched six innings, allowed one unearned run on three hits and struck out seven.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
But nothing will change the chance that he was denied to celebrate with Team USA in the 2026 Olympics, or the parallels to one of the most famous hard-luck cases in sports history, Ralph Cox.
—Mac Engel
april 21, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2026
Every small room sans closet in New York City requires a stand-alone alternative for surviving a hard-luck storage situation, and even ample hallways can benefit from a dignified wardrobe cabinet as a way to punctuate large spaces.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 17 Mar. 2026
Not after just two injury-riddled, hard-luck seasons.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Pratt offers no prototypical hard-luck origin story.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
Burford has stepped in nicely for hard-luck left guard Ben Bartch.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 20 Dec. 2025
Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 29 Apr. 2026
There’s some dark subject matter, and some hard-luck people on the fringes.
—New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
For Coronado, the hard-luck loser was freshman Quinn Smock, who pitched six innings, allowed one unearned run on three hits and struck out seven.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
But nothing will change the chance that he was denied to celebrate with Team USA in the 2026 Olympics, or the parallels to one of the most famous hard-luck cases in sports history, Ralph Cox.
—Mac Engel
april 21, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2026
Every small room sans closet in New York City requires a stand-alone alternative for surviving a hard-luck storage situation, and even ample hallways can benefit from a dignified wardrobe cabinet as a way to punctuate large spaces.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 17 Mar. 2026
Not after just two injury-riddled, hard-luck seasons.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Pratt offers no prototypical hard-luck origin story.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
Burford has stepped in nicely for hard-luck left guard Ben Bartch.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 20 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-luck
Adjective
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However, Cincinnati and Washington have been done in by unfortunate injuries and organizational disorder.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
-
The unfortunate problem is that, like most other things, the system can be gamed—people could submit flawed content that lists people as authors who have never been involved.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
Adjective
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With the Mets taking a 2-1 lead, Rodón, clearly unhappy, appeared to curse at himself as Austin Wells patted him on the shoulder.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
17 May 2026
-
Janet reportedly attended an early private screening of the rough cut of the film and walked away pretty unhappy.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
15 May 2026
Adjective
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Vasyanovych plays Roman, a luckless director who’s out of work and trying to shoot his latest film in a country whose dwindling population is still traumatized by the war.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Rooting for a hapless team for nearly two decades teaches you to find pleasures beyond victory.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
13 May 2026
-
Joined by her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), Prue navigates a world of talking animals, bandits, and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
13 May 2026
Adjective
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Stearns had nothing to do with any of them — and everything to do with the disastrous offseason that made the Mets the worst team in baseball for most of April.—
Bill Madden,
New York Daily News,
16 May 2026
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Based on a script by Justin Varava that made the 2024 Black List, Turpentine follows a deadbeat son who hires friends to rob his own parents to pay off a bookie, with disastrous results.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hard-luck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-luck. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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