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
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
His previous two films were the ill-fated (but far better than remembered) Brainstorm, a psychedelic science fiction thriller forever marred due to its co-lead Natalie Wood's tragic death during production, and a dark masterpiece, David Cronenberg's adaptation of Stephen King's The Dead Zone.
—EW.com, 24 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
But efforts from Chinese firms to gain a physical foothold in Greenland or access its raw materials have been ill-fated.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 6 May 2025
And each event remains converged at a crossroads — albeit not the ultimately all-too-hasty, vague and ill-fated East Crossroads stadium district proposal Jackson County voters rebuked a year ago this month.
—Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2025
This quickly proves to be ill-fated when Red Feather and his men kill the scouts in a surprise attack, leaving only one survivor who later points them in Red Feather’s direction.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
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
His previous two films were the ill-fated (but far better than remembered) Brainstorm, a psychedelic science fiction thriller forever marred due to its co-lead Natalie Wood's tragic death during production, and a dark masterpiece, David Cronenberg's adaptation of Stephen King's The Dead Zone.
—EW.com, 24 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
But efforts from Chinese firms to gain a physical foothold in Greenland or access its raw materials have been ill-fated.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 6 May 2025
And each event remains converged at a crossroads — albeit not the ultimately all-too-hasty, vague and ill-fated East Crossroads stadium district proposal Jackson County voters rebuked a year ago this month.
—Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2025
This quickly proves to be ill-fated when Red Feather and his men kill the scouts in a surprise attack, leaving only one survivor who later points them in Red Feather’s direction.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-fated
Adjective
-
After the unfortunate withdrawal of U.S. Classic bars champion Myli Lew in podium training, the women’s bars title is even more up for grabs.—
Caroline Price,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
-
The fishermen were forced to abandon the Titan after a series of unfortunate events hit the ship.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
As with almost any change, some residents were unhappy, mostly about being told to slow down.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Aug. 2025
-
President Donald Trump was unhappy with July’s U.S. jobs report, which showed hiring slowing (with 73,000 jobs added, compared to 100,000 predicted) and revised past months’ numbers.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Spiers: Manchester City had a disastrous 2024-25 season and still only finished 13 points behind Liverpool.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
11 Aug. 2025
-
As for other imports, Doval allowed three runs and took the loss in his debut to start the disastrous weekend.—
Larry Fleisher,
Forbes.com,
10 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ill-fated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-fated. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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