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
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-luck
Adjective
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As Yassir Zabiri flung his boot in the air, the ball bounced off the unfortunate Joshua Wynder and into his own net.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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Tight end Orande Gadsden had a very unfortunate early fumble, resulting in a long touchdown run.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Jason Kelce, brother of Travis and former star of the Philadelphia Eagles, has issued a statement after a fake quote of him appearing to criticize those unhappy with the selection of Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl Halftime Show went viral.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
15 Oct. 2025
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Advertisement Lawmakers are reportedly unhappy with briefings on the strikes, unable to clarify the legal basis of the strikes, and the refusal from Pentagon officials to provide unedited video footage of such incidents.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
15 Oct. 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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The game of the year in the Mountain West turned into a dud, thanks to UNLV’s hapless defense.—
Jon Wilner,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Oct. 2025
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The film follows Caiden (Smith), a hapless fitness enthusiast who moves to Los Angeles dreaming of becoming a trainer, only to be diverted by Randy (Krumholtz), an opportunistic Hollywood Boulevard grifter who exploits his likeness to the world’s most famous superhero.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard-luck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-luck. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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