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
  • No, this unfortunate moniker represents the lack of attention to and awareness of the disease.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • Typically, when rookies put up gaudy numbers in Las Vegas, their stats are accompanied by unfortunate shooting percentages or a bevy of turnovers, but that wasn’t the case for Burries.
    — Eric Nehm, New York Times, 19 July 2026
Definition of unfortunate
Adjective
  • Despite the peace and goodwill following the Hundred Year War, Aang is unhappy and lonesome.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • Was this about one of you being really unhappy with the streaming culture of people skipping opening credits?
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 23 July 2026
Definition of unhappy
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
Adjective
  • The show, which is filmed and set in Stockport, England, follows Wood as Gemma Moscrip, a woman coming to terms with life as a mother, supported by her hapless father (Morrissey).
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 15 July 2026
  • Spurs evolved from a side who did not press well and could not progress the ball through the middle of the pitch through Frank’s miserable period and Tudor’s hapless interlude, to a side who tried to do exactly those things.
    — Elias Burke, New York Times, 13 July 2026
Definition of hapless
Adjective
  • The luckless Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu were forced to pull out before their first-round matches because of injury, while only four of the 19 home singles players even won a match.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 13 July 2026
  • The one in which his tiny team of negotiators surrendered to the radicals ruling that luckless nation.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2026
Definition of luckless

Browse Nearby Words

illegitimate
ill-fated
ill-favored
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Cite this Entry

“Ill-fated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-fated. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of ill-fated for Spanish Speakers

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