LUCKLESS Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

luckless

adjective

Definition of luckless

as in unfortunate

having, prone to, or marked by bad luck a luckless team with the worst record in the league

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 luckless 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 The one in which his tiny team of negotiators surrendered to the radicals ruling that luckless nation. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2026 Any one of those locations could have allowed the heat of reentry to burn through the aluminum alloy walls of the spacecraft, killing any luckless crew that may have been inside, in much the kind of reentry breakup that doomed the shuttle Columbia and its seven-person crew in 2003. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Apr. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for luckless

Adjective

That is the unfortunate part of a tenure full of expansion, media-rights billions and two transformational collective bargaining agreements.

— Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Moore and his allies are presenting gerrymandering as an unfortunate response to an acute political crisis, but trying to gerrymander Maryland in favor of Democrats is far from a new effort.

— Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of unfortunate

Adjective

But when an oblong ball hits the turf, there’s often an equal chance the other team will recover, so Harbaugh was predictably unhappy with his team’s four fumbles against Dallas.

— Dan Duggan, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
There's also the daunting task of keeping young conservatives engaged at a time when many of them are unhappy with party leaders.

— Elena Moore, NPR, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of unhappy

Adjective

Avenues for Camilo’s enlightenment while still remaining distinct and vivid personalities, the women impose change on García Bernal’s hapless hero, who might be the least interesting among them.

— Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
The evolution of terrorism Law enforcement spends much of its focus on plots that happened and attacks that became near misses through hapless bad actors.

— Mark Morales, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of hapless

Adjective

The disastrous late-August flash flooding near Phantom Ranch struck below the burn scar left by that blaze, the National Weather Service said.

— Chris Boyette, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026
The bill for the disastrous Leonard era now includes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — the reigning, two-time MVP — 10 first-round picks and two additional pick swaps.

— Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of disastrous

Adjective

Manning was 23-for-37 for only 195 yards with one touchdown and a comically unlucky interception.

— Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
But that’s not to say the song isn’t fresh, with Shygirl’s silky voice adding warmth to the lush track, which comes with a sharp video featuring Shygirl in a pretty unlucky situation.

— Lyndsey Havens, Billboard, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of unlucky

Adjective

There’s more than enough time for Stroud to rebound, while Daniels just needs to stay healthy after a hard-luck 2025 season.

— Jeff Howe, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Caleb’s reputation Until now, Caleb has enjoyed a reputation as a hard-luck farmboy who was led on by Kenzie and never got a fair shake in the villa.

— Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 1 Sep. 2026