Synonyms of hard-luck

hard-luck

adjective

ˈhärd-ˌlək 

as in unfortunate

having, prone to, or marked by bad luck

a hard-luck ball club that never could get the breaks it needed

Synonyms & Similar Words

• unfortunate
• unhappy
• luckless
• hapless
• disastrous
• unlucky
• catastrophic
• unfavorable
• doomed
• star-crossed
• ill-starred
• ill-fated
• tragic
• adverse
• snakebit
• jinxed
• damned
• inauspicious
• unpromising
• calamitous
• ill
• accursed
• untoward

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lucky
• happy
• fortunate
• privileged
• favored
• gifted
• favorable
• promising
• golden
• fair
• blessed
• propitious
• auspicious

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hard-luck

Fox closed with four birdies over his last six holes — and one bogey that felt equally important — for a 2-under 68 and a one-shot victory over hard-luck Cameron Young for his first major title. — Doug Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 19 July 2026

All the usual fun Indy stuff is here – Nazis, treasured artifacts – though the bantering chemistry between Ford's hard-luck hero and Sean Connery as his grumpy dad is off-the-hook spectacular. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 June 2026

For The Times) Boosted by a massive influx of cash from rental giant Airbnb, some of McKinney’s ads played up his hard-luck upbringing in one of New Jersey’s most violent cities. — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2026

Both her audition and her callback had fallen flat, but the company must have figured that casting an amateur from hard-luck Butte as Lucetta would make good press. — Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, 1 June 2026