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 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
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, 20 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
Whether meeting a bad fate while trying to fix the ship or dying several times in vaccine trials (RIP Mickeys 12 to 16) our hard-luck main man navigates it all while being held in contempt by everyone around him besides his steely girlfriend Nasha (Naomi Ackie).
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2025
While Michigan State is overwhelmingly likely to clinch the conference regular season title (the Spartans host Penn State this weekend), a sweep by either Ohio State or Minnesota this weekend would wrap up second place, and the right to host hard-luck Notre Dame in round one.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 20 Feb. 2025
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
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, 20 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
Whether meeting a bad fate while trying to fix the ship or dying several times in vaccine trials (RIP Mickeys 12 to 16) our hard-luck main man navigates it all while being held in contempt by everyone around him besides his steely girlfriend Nasha (Naomi Ackie).
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2025
While Michigan State is overwhelmingly likely to clinch the conference regular season title (the Spartans host Penn State this weekend), a sweep by either Ohio State or Minnesota this weekend would wrap up second place, and the right to host hard-luck Notre Dame in round one.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 20 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-luck
Adjective
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And in the process of owning your role in the unfortunate circumstances, remember, never blame your superior or the board in a public forum.—
Carol Geffner,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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While Malle is clearly qualified to oversee editorial content, the timing is unfortunate for her chances.—
Laurie Brookins,
HollywoodReporter,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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This gives the creditor an additional target to pursue and make very unhappy which can indirectly put pressure on the debtor to pay the judgment.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
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Circulation increased and the publication won two Pulitzer Prizes, but the owner, conservative Harry Guggenheim, was unhappy with the paper’s shift to the left, and he and Moyers were divided over the Vietnam War and the 1968 presidential election.—
Carmel Dagan,
Variety,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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The hapless president’s parachute gets stuck in a tree and the savvy prime minister gets him down.—
Caryn James,
HollywoodReporter,
27 June 2025
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The Balloon Boy hoax would seem to have all the right elements for a revisitation: a hapless, alleged victim (6-year-old Falcon Heene), sky-high danger (the balloon reached about 7,000 feet), daringly duplicitous parents (Richard and Mayumi Heene), and a national profile that gripped audiences.—
John Wenzel,
Denver Post,
23 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard-luck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-luck. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
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