as in unfavorable
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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
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
-
Even then, couples with unfavorable Star sign synastry can last in the long term.—
Lisa Stardust,
Vogue,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The same polling showed 57% of voters disapprove of Trump’s deportation policies and 60% hold an unfavorable view of ICE.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
In short, the future feels scary and unpromising.—
Kian Bakhtiari,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Admittedly, someone older might be critical or discouraging.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Yet seldom is heard a discouraging word when Darnold assesses what happened in New York, Carolina, San Francisco, or Minnesota.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The bump was later ruled a penalty, but the disheartening finish had Santos-Griswold considering retirement.—
Aliza Chasan,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
-
If right, their conclusion implies a disheartening lesson amid the otherwise-welcome news.—
Charles Fain Lehman,
The Atlantic,
20 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Wearing what’s possibly the most embarrassing bridal headdress in the history of nuptials, Suzanna looks even more helpless and hopeless.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Young people feel hopeless about their ability to buy a home, start a business, or raise a family.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
For three days, things were cheerless for Courtney Williams.—
Mike Cook,
Twin Cities,
28 May 2025
Adjective
-
Snowpack across the mountains that feed the Colorado River remained dismal in early February.—
Elise Schmelzer,
Denver Post,
17 Feb. 2026
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This is the dismal tableau today in Venezuela’s Maracaibo Basin, which, for much of the last century, was one of the globe’s leading sources of petroleum.—
Mery Mogollón,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Perhaps there’s some unseen optimism guiding Sarah, imbuing the film with a secretly uplifting quality, despite the gloomy subject matter.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2026
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While the Florida project has always had a malleable aesthetic, the constants have been a love of gloomy atmospherics and a penchant for crafting decrepit worlds out of their swampy death-doom.—
Sam Goldner,
Pitchfork,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unpropitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unpropitious. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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