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
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
Not after just two injury-riddled, hard-luck seasons.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Pratt offers no prototypical hard-luck origin story.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
Slot bemoaned the fine margins but there have been far too many hard-luck stories.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Burford has stepped in nicely for hard-luck left guard Ben Bartch.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 20 Dec. 2025
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
Mikolas suffered a hard-luck setback in his lone meeting with Milwaukee this season.
—Field Level Media, Reuters, 14 Sep. 2025
Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 17 Mar. 2026
Not after just two injury-riddled, hard-luck seasons.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Pratt offers no prototypical hard-luck origin story.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
Slot bemoaned the fine margins but there have been far too many hard-luck stories.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Burford has stepped in nicely for hard-luck left guard Ben Bartch.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 20 Dec. 2025
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
Mikolas suffered a hard-luck setback in his lone meeting with Milwaukee this season.
—Field Level Media, Reuters, 14 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-luck
Adjective
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That house has a history of unfortunate events, including the fate of Cookie, an errant heiress and her pooch.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Mar. 2026
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The start of 2026 has been a series of unfortunate events for Michelle Harris and her family.—
Monique John,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The 28-year-old receiver is reportedly unhappy with his situation in Philadelphia, despite winning a Super Bowl a little over a year ago.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
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But there may be an answer, or at least a compromise that will satisfy those unhappy with the idea of destroying a usable building.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
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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Sacramento was the Washington Generals to the Hornets’ Harlem Globetrotters on Tuesday night — Charlotte seemed to toy with a hapless Sacramento team that just wanted to get out of the Queen City.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Mar. 2026
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Golden State was coming off a scrappy victory over hapless Washington, snapping a five-game losing streak.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Duke appeared to be too much for the Huskies, who went more than five minutes without scoring during a disastrous first-half stretch to fall behind, 44-25.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
30 Mar. 2026
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And years later, when the group splintered into increasingly militant factions, some took part in a disastrous bank robbery that killed an innocent guard and two police officers—three men who were just doing their jobs that day, and who left behind their own kids, their own families.—
Zayd Ayers Dohrn,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hard-luck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-luck. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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