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 latter more than held his own, though, allowing four hits and three runs across 6 2/3 innings before leaving as the hard-luck loser.
—
Joe Kozlowski, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
The two formerly hard-luck performers, each previously divorced with children, blended their families and achieved enough professional success to open for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder in Milwaukee.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
Leiter took a hard-luck loss for his gem as the Yankees wrapped up the title.
—Jayson Stark, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Mikolas suffered a hard-luck setback in his lone meeting with Milwaukee this season.
—Field Level Media, Reuters, 14 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
Joe Kozlowski, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
The two formerly hard-luck performers, each previously divorced with children, blended their families and achieved enough professional success to open for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder in Milwaukee.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
Leiter took a hard-luck loss for his gem as the Yankees wrapped up the title.
—Jayson Stark, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Mikolas suffered a hard-luck setback in his lone meeting with Milwaukee this season.
—Field Level Media, Reuters, 14 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-luck
Adjective
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Liverpool were competitive in the first half, and perhaps unfortunate to see Virgil van Dijk’s equaliser ruled out for interference from an offside position, but City pressed home their advantage through the brilliance of left-winger Jeremy Doku.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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The story takes place at a grand country house where the guests have an unfortunate habit of dying, or nearly dying, under seemingly unrelated circumstances.—
Anna Russell,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Pauline Collins, the exuberant British actress who inspired women — and men, too — to do something to change their unhappy lives with her Oscar-nominated and Olivier- and Tony-winning performances in Shirley Valentine, has died.—
Lisa de los Reyes,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Nov. 2025
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That distaste didn’t hurt Spanberger and her ticket, because 18% of those unhappy voters backed her anyway.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
5 Nov. 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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And the Bills-dominant crowd at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium howled with derision for the hapless Fins.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
9 Nov. 2025
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Many immigrant novels contain similar scenes, in which hapless characters embrace improbable visions of America, only to be chastened upon arrival.—
Tope Folarin,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The spotlight increased after a disastrous interview with CBS to promote the legendary coach’s book.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
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Second goal breaks Charlotte’s back The second half opened with a disastrous sequence for Charlotte.—
Colin Cerniglia,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard-luck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-luck. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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