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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hard-luck
McConaughey plays hard-luck bus driver Kevin McKay, who's responsible for getting more than 20 kids and their teacher (America Ferrera) home while also worrying about his teenage son Sean.
—
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
The offensive issues contributed to rookie Yankees starter Will Warren (6-5) suffering a hard-luck loss.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 13 July 2025
The offensive issues contributed to a hard-luck loss for rookie Yankees starter Will Warren, who surrendered a home run to the game’s first batter, Michael Busch, but was otherwise sharp.
—Peter Sblendorio, Hartford Courant, 13 July 2025
The final outs were symbolic of their hard-luck day — including 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position — with Yandy Diaz lacing a 100.6-mph line drive into a double play.
—Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 June 2025
Royals starter Noah Cameron took a hard-luck loss despite allowing just two runs.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 22 June 2025
May departed with the Dodgers trailing 1-0 and was initially in line to be the hard-luck loser of a pitchers’ duel with Burnes, but Hernandez changed that with one swing.
—Kyle Glaser, Oc Register, 22 May 2025
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
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
The offensive issues contributed to rookie Yankees starter Will Warren (6-5) suffering a hard-luck loss.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 13 July 2025
The offensive issues contributed to a hard-luck loss for rookie Yankees starter Will Warren, who surrendered a home run to the game’s first batter, Michael Busch, but was otherwise sharp.
—Peter Sblendorio, Hartford Courant, 13 July 2025
The final outs were symbolic of their hard-luck day — including 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position — with Yandy Diaz lacing a 100.6-mph line drive into a double play.
—Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 June 2025
Royals starter Noah Cameron took a hard-luck loss despite allowing just two runs.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 22 June 2025
May departed with the Dodgers trailing 1-0 and was initially in line to be the hard-luck loser of a pitchers’ duel with Burnes, but Hernandez changed that with one swing.
—Kyle Glaser, Oc Register, 22 May 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-luck
Adjective
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Therefore, there are some unfortunate parallels between young Gen Z needing to sacrifice wages due to wavering job opportunities and millennials graduating into the Great Recession.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
16 Sep. 2025
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In today's volatile business climate, layoffs have become an unfortunate reality across industries.—
Caroline Castrillon,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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My research team works hard to keep the email addresses up to date, but executives keep changing their addresses to avoid having to deal with unhappy customers.—
Christopher Elliott,
Mercury News,
10 Sep. 2025
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But few seemed to leave unhappy.—
Jonathan Hawkins,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
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
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Now the Patriots will play what appears to be a hapless Dolphins crew.—
Gladys Louise Tyler,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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Forty years after Spinal Tap, history’s most hapless band turns it up to 11 one last time.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard-luck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-luck. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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