as in unfortunate
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
the ill-fated trip ended in disaster for all
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Recent Examples of ill-fated
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
Jeffrey, a divorced former Army Ranger, embarks on a sudden and inevitably ill-fated life of crime to help provide for his kids.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 8 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
Before his turn as the sweet but ill-fated Wallace, Michael B. Jordan's few credits included a minor role in the 2001 Keanu Reeves film Hardball.
—Derek Lawrence, EW.com, 29 July 2025
The move to LoHi ended up being ill-fated, according to Nuñez, because the restaurant lost its identity.
—Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 28 May 2025
Despite the trailblazing accomplishment, Walters’ co-anchor role was ill-fated, and the evening news was overhauled in 1978 into World News Tonight.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 12 May 2025
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Jeffrey, a divorced former Army Ranger, embarks on a sudden and inevitably ill-fated life of crime to help provide for his kids.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 8 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
Before his turn as the sweet but ill-fated Wallace, Michael B. Jordan's few credits included a minor role in the 2001 Keanu Reeves film Hardball.
—Derek Lawrence, EW.com, 29 July 2025
The move to LoHi ended up being ill-fated, according to Nuñez, because the restaurant lost its identity.
—Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 28 May 2025
Despite the trailblazing accomplishment, Walters’ co-anchor role was ill-fated, and the evening news was overhauled in 1978 into World News Tonight.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 12 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-fated
Adjective
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Thus a wonderful section on The Jew of Malta climaxes in an unfortunate vision of the text as a secret message to Lord Strange, a wealthy and important patron of the arts.—
Isaac Butler,
The Atlantic,
3 Nov. 2025
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Such an event, let alone two within less than an hour of each other, is both unfortunate and potentially very suspicious.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Manchester City 3-1 Bournemouth Sunderland vs Everton David Moyes has not been back on the touchline at the Stadium of Light since his unhappy spell in charge of Sunderland ended in relegation in 2017.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
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But if Brown is that unhappy with his status on the team, perhaps moving him would be addition by subtraction, as Florio suggested.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The Arizona Wildcats clobbered Colorado, 52-17, marking another disastrous defeat for Coach Prime.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
2 Nov. 2025
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Gottlieb’s team, picked last in the Horizon League preseason poll, hopes to improve on last year’s disastrous 4-28 campaign.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Startups may cast incumbents as hapless Goliaths, but in ranking Europe’s biggest companies, David is nowhere to be seen.—
Adam Gale,
Fortune,
29 Oct. 2025
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The point is, to me, Kuhn’s hapless federal felonies seem a lot less significant than grabbing $7,000 in cash payoffs in the ladies’ room at City Hall.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
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
Cite this Entry
“Ill-fated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-fated. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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