HARD-LUCK Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

hard-luck

adjective

ˈhärd-ˌlək

Definition of hard-luck

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hard-luck There’s some dark subject matter, and some hard-luck people on the fringes. — New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026 For Coronado, the hard-luck loser was freshman Quinn Smock, who pitched six innings, allowed one unearned run on three hits and struck out seven. — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026 But nothing will change the chance that he was denied to celebrate with Team USA in the 2026 Olympics, or the parallels to one of the most famous hard-luck cases in sports history, Ralph Cox. — Mac Engel april 21, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2026 Every small room sans closet in New York City requires a stand-alone alternative for surviving a hard-luck storage situation, and even ample hallways can benefit from a dignified wardrobe cabinet as a way to punctuate large spaces. — Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 17 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hard-luck

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-luck

Adjective

Healthcare has an unfortunate tendency to confuse organizational structure with progress.

— Sachin H. Jain, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
This leads to another unfortunate confrontation with a Bowden parent, as Tom drags Cady into the street and beats him up in full view of lookie-loos with phone cameras.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 10 July 2026

Definition of unfortunate

Adjective

Brigitte Bardot, a very unhappy wife, is the Penelope stand-in.

— Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 14 July 2026
Given the players’ high-profile status, there is a giant spotlight on the process, with plenty of unhappy fans questioning why the SEC determined both moves were made for athletic purposes.

— Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 July 2026

Definition of unhappy

Adjective

The one in which his tiny team of negotiators surrendered to the radicals ruling that luckless nation.

— Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2026
Any one of those locations could have allowed the heat of reentry to burn through the aluminum alloy walls of the spacecraft, killing any luckless crew that may have been inside, in much the kind of reentry breakup that doomed the shuttle Columbia and its seven-person crew in 2003.

— Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Apr. 2026

Definition of luckless

Adjective

After following Thomson to the parking lot, Neil began rocking a van, as bystanders laughed and the hapless driver tried to extract his vehicle.

— Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
Japan scored twice in each half and kept a hapless Tunisia down to a shot apiece either side of the break.

— Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 7 July 2026

Definition of hapless

Adjective

Hopefully that comes with less disastrous results than Bear’s wish.

— Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 17 July 2026
If a presidential administration were to decide that research in a specific area was no longer important for political reasons, that could have disastrous consequences for our nation.

— Felix V. Matos Rodriguez, New York Daily News, 17 July 2026

Definition of disastrous

Browse Nearby Words

hard-line

hard-luck

hardly

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“Hard-luck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-luck. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of hard-luck

adjective

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