as in unhappy
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
Romeo and Juliet are among literature's most famous star-crossed lovers
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Recent Examples of star-crossed
The best bet is that SpaceX proves a scientific triumph, and star-crossed as an stock.
—
Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie lead the series as the star-crossed, puck-smashing Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
Yes, Netflix's Regency-era romance drama (Season 4 Part 1 now streaming) has returned for a new year of lustful glances, hopelessly star-crossed lovers and absolutely absurd balls for a fourth go-round, this time with a story all about the second Bridgerton son, Benedict (Luke Thompson).
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
The Vikings have begun a new year with yet another quarterback quandary, a familiar scenario for this star-crossed franchise.
—CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
The sweeping romance set across three decades of passion, loss, and hope in Beirut stars Hassan Akil and Mounia Akl as Nino and Yasmina, star-crossed lovers bound by a magnetic relationship, one an eternal optimist and the other an impulsive pragmatist.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
Meanwhile, star-crossed lovers Ellen (Harriet Slater) and Brian (Jamie Roy) managed to plot an escape of their own — but not before getting some major blood on their hands.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025
The star-crossed tend to double down on superstition.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
Lesbian star-crossed lovers à la Bonnie and Clyde?
—Quispe López, Them., 29 Aug. 2025
Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie lead the series as the star-crossed, puck-smashing Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
Yes, Netflix's Regency-era romance drama (Season 4 Part 1 now streaming) has returned for a new year of lustful glances, hopelessly star-crossed lovers and absolutely absurd balls for a fourth go-round, this time with a story all about the second Bridgerton son, Benedict (Luke Thompson).
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
The Vikings have begun a new year with yet another quarterback quandary, a familiar scenario for this star-crossed franchise.
—CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
The sweeping romance set across three decades of passion, loss, and hope in Beirut stars Hassan Akil and Mounia Akl as Nino and Yasmina, star-crossed lovers bound by a magnetic relationship, one an eternal optimist and the other an impulsive pragmatist.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
Meanwhile, star-crossed lovers Ellen (Harriet Slater) and Brian (Jamie Roy) managed to plot an escape of their own — but not before getting some major blood on their hands.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025
The star-crossed tend to double down on superstition.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
Lesbian star-crossed lovers à la Bonnie and Clyde?
—Quispe López, Them., 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for star-crossed
Adjective
-
The post got 22,000 views, including from unhappy folks living next to data centers, but no helpful information.—
Denise Crosby,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Against this backdrop, the unhappy Angine shops compulsively in a department store and develops a fascination with a playful salesgirl.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The interviews themselves are informative, but unobtrusive, and the while intimate footage of Frazier and Reynolds’ personal lives paints a slightly wider picture of their circumstances, their moods in the aftermath of their unfortunate digital breakthroughs is kept largely at an arm’s length.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Juicy is in the unfortunate position of following Jane.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
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
Adjective
-
Each hot run was countered by a disastrous stretch for seemingly everyone.—
Gabby Herzig,
New York Times,
15 Mar. 2026
-
But two disastrous seasons followed that campaign, with the Hurricanes going a combined 22-41 in 2023-24 and 2024-25.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
So even if Willis and the defense flop this season, Miami still be positioned to land one of those QBs without going into this season trying to lose like, well, the hapless Washington Wizards.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
14 Mar. 2026
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Only the impassioned importuning of the Jewish Queen Esther persuaded her husband, the hapless King Ahaseurus, to thwart Haman’s plans and eliminate the threat to the Jewish people.—
Michael M. Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Not after just two injury-riddled, hard-luck seasons.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Pratt offers no prototypical hard-luck origin story.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Gary and Fort Pierce was a doomed union.—
Jonathan Bernstein,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Certainly, that off feeling had to do with some very scary changes across the film and media industries, where many people feel doomed to lose their jobs.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Star-crossed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/star-crossed. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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