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ill-fated

adjective

ˈil-ˈfā-təd How to pronounce ill-fated (audio)
Definition of ill-fatednext
as in unfortunate
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck the ill-fated trip ended in disaster for all

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 ill-fated So, where will Season 2 take us, Mayor Tom Loftis, and the rest of this wonderfully funny and spectacularly ill-fated island community? — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 11 June 2026 What the Pentagon Papers revealed is that the American government had reason to know all along that the venture was ill-fated. — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026 The series then retreats to 2019 to trace the circumstances that led to these killings, building toward the inevitability of Maggie and Paul’s death and filtering the whole family through a lens of catastrophe, where every member is either ill-fated or devious. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025 That plan proved ill-fated, however, when he got caught trying to bribe a city official. — Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 30 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for ill-fated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-fated
  1. unfortunate
  2. unhappy
  3. disastrous
  4. hapless
  5. luckless
Adjective
  • One of these evils had the mass murder of civilians as its intended goal; the other claims that its victims are unfortunate accidents.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
  • But those who get too close risk far more than a soaking, as Niagara is a graveyard for the reckless, the unfortunate and the desperate.
    — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of unfortunate
Adjective
  • Advocates unhappy with California AG Media advocacy group Free Press criticized California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
    — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Such promotions on social media and elsewhere might trigger some unhappy conversations between taxpayers and legitimate tax professionals.
    — Susan Tompor, Freep.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of unhappy
Adjective
  • The agency might even take the opportunity to completely redesign the disastrous Ashland, Armitage and Elston Avenue intersection and save generations of Chicagoans the headache of spending 15 minutes navigating through a single stoplight.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Where his focus has been following the Dolphins’ special team unit’s disastrous performance in Miami’s 27-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders is patching the leaks that led to three massive returns to the Raiders and a missing a field-goal attempt.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of disastrous
Adjective
  • The destination of our hapless hero, a courier (Austin Abrams, absolutely awesome) who must transport an important package between medical facilities, is indeed the game’s residentially evil homebase of Racoon City.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Neither will the hapless farmer’s mane, soon rendering him a yeti-like village pariah.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of hapless
Adjective
  • During these walking meditations my notebook starts to feel suspiciously similar to the luckless young climber’s selfie camera.
    — Brian Laidlaw, Longreads, 1 Sep. 2026
  • This year, the final was between Kerry, historically the sport’s most successful side, and Mayo, one of Ireland’s smaller counties by population and, in football terms, the most luckless.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 27 July 2026
Definition of luckless

Browse Nearby Words

illegitimate
ill-fated
ill-favored
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ill-fated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-fated. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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