unpropitious

Definition of unpropitiousnext

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 unpropitious Handing the baton to Harris at this unpropitious time for Democrats is like Napoleon’s handing off his military command to Marshal Ney to conduct the disastrous French retreat from Moscow in 1812, featuring 500,000 French casualties. Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 23 July 2024 Here are a handful of quick Thesaurus pulls to help paint a picture of how the unit played: unpropitious, cataclysmic, demoralizing, execrable. Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAY, 9 Jan. 2023 The exhausted refugees are greeted by a functionary of the Relief Committee with the unpropitious nickname Statistics Babu. Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 26 Dec. 2022 That will be an unpropitious setting for launching a network: if the teams are unclear on the goal, the risk of confusion is considerable. Steve Denning, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2021 JoyFish sits in a strip mall in an unpropitious space that has seen several restaurants come and go. Tan Vinh, The Seattle Times, 11 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unpropitious
Adjective
  • Missing the deadline can lock beneficiaries into unfavorable drug coverage for the year.
    Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
  • But soon after, the city offered different rulings unfavorable to the Eddses as to where the boundaries are and where the couple could develop.
    Ashley Mackin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • This otherwise unpromising setup is made not just bearable, but a genuine pleasure by the central trio.
    Judy Berman, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
  • This is the unpromising backdrop to Keir Starmer's trip to Beijing this week in the first by a British prime minister since Theresa May visited eight years ago.
    Ian King, CNBC, 28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Both hosts often wept as Guthrie described her emotional journey through the increasingly discouraging investigation into her mother’s whereabouts.
    Andy Rose, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026
  • Still, the latest uptick is a discouraging sign for house hunters as the spring buying season kicks off.
    Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • The crocodile’s rare appearance represented a disheartening degradation but a hopeful sign of what the Niger Delta, if salvaged, can still become — an eco-diverse paradise akin to the Amazon or Costa Rica, that feeds its populace and attracts foreign visitors wanting to witness nature’s glory.
    Noo Saro-Wiwa, The Dial, 24 Mar. 2026
  • With the next five against the Lakers, Rockets, Spurs, Cavaliers and Cavaliers, there will be the opportunity for statement wins to follow, after the disheartening losses to the Magic and Hornets.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • There were definitely points on my journey where things seemed dark and sort of hopeless.
    Zulekha Nathoo, USA Today, 30 Mar. 2026
  • This one’s for the horny, hopeless goth inside all of us.
    Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • The storm let up before daybreak, but the morning was gray and cheerless with a cold wind.
    Elwyn "Bud" Myers, Outdoor Life, 11 Mar. 2026
  • This episode is disappointingly cheerless overall—it’s not frosted, tinsely, glowing, silver with bells and mist, or snowy.
    Jenny Singer, Glamour, 3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Department hydrologists told The Associated Press of the dismal, record-low snowpack after concluding their field assessments late Tuesday.
    ABC News, ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Simpson had two stinkers in key games, throwing for just 212 yards, one TD and one pick, on 19-for-39 accuracy, in a dismal 28-7 loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Artist Peregrine Church has always struggled with the gloomy weather in the Pacific Northwest.
    Maggie Penman, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2026
  • On a gloomy spring Friday at the Jersey Shore, perhaps no one was thinking of summer more than Clay Rossiter.
    Ryan Hughes, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Unpropitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unpropitious. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.

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