ˌən-ˈfȯrch-nət
1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
an unfortunate chain of events destroyed the business
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unhappy
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
up to that point in her life she had been unfortunate in love
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in tragic
of a kind to cause great distress
an unfortunate choice of words that would later prove to be embarrassing for the talk show host
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unfortunate
All month long, USC faded in the most unfortunate moments, letting games get away from them.
—
Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
This has the unfortunate consequence of making both Anna and Jack paper-thin caricatures of the ambitious reporter and small town cop.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
As much as people try to avoid it (and not contribute to it), the untimely animal deaths are an unfortunate, inevitable byproduct of a society reliant on cars.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 28 Jan. 2026
Anti-vaccine activists like to point to this unfortunate irony as proof that vaccination is the real villain.
—Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unfortunate
Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
This has the unfortunate consequence of making both Anna and Jack paper-thin caricatures of the ambitious reporter and small town cop.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
As much as people try to avoid it (and not contribute to it), the untimely animal deaths are an unfortunate, inevitable byproduct of a society reliant on cars.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 28 Jan. 2026
Anti-vaccine activists like to point to this unfortunate irony as proof that vaccination is the real villain.
—Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unfortunate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfortunate
Adjective
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Secretary Noem paused the diversity lottery to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
31 Jan. 2026
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The main issues on that offense were instability at offensive coordinator, as owner Woody Johnson forced him to fire Mike LaFleur after the 2022 season and replace him with the disastrous Nathaniel Hackett.—
Zack Rosenblatt,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Domingo Morel, a professor at New York University who studies state takeovers of local schools, said most local residents wind up unhappy with the methods used by state interventionists and the results.—
Bri Hatch,
Chalkbeat,
26 Jan. 2026
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Audrey, the single and childless and PhD-less product of a stable but unhappy home, has fallen short of the life planned out for her by her parents.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Today, there are more than 80,000 amputees in Angola, a tragic legacy of 27 years of the Angolan Civil War, which ended in 2002.—
Lizz Schumer,
PEOPLE,
29 Jan. 2026
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The true story of the Von Erich wrestling family was so unrelentingly tragic that when The Iron Claw finally got made, director Sean Durkin opted to leave one brother out entirely.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer earlier this month proved to Carlson and other Minnesotans that the potential for danger as an observer was not abstract.—
Michael Williams,
CNN Money,
28 Jan. 2026
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Noem has been under increasing scrutiny following Saturday’s fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal authorities in Minneapolis.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Brown’s primary worry is that the climate will continue to warm and the ice sheet in Greenland will continue to melt at its current rate, which could lead to a catastrophic rise in sea levels.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Jan. 2026
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Power outages still remain in the South following the catastrophic ice impacts of last weekend’s storm.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unfortunate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfortunate. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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