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.
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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.
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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.
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Steve Denning,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2021
JoyFish sits in a strip mall in an unpropitious space that has seen several restaurants come and go.
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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
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The undertaking might seem crazy to those who diss the fight game or have unfavorable reviews of the current administration.
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Negotiating power is harder to see—until conditions become unfavorable and someone needs to act against the system their balance sheet depends on.
Adjective
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The surprising discovery awaiting us below the thicket of its atmosphere has quashed the notion that worlds far from the Sun are unpromising destinations in the search for life-supporting environments.
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This otherwise unpromising setup is made not just bearable, but a genuine pleasure by the central trio.
Adjective
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Still, this was a discouraging result for anyone wearing yellow in Kansas City.
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The Chicago Blackhawks needed plenty after a discouraging 2024-25 season.
Adjective
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Still, during a summer when the Tigers are trying to resuscitate their season after a disheartening May, process creates only so much comfort.
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Though 2025 was a disappointing five-loss campaign that opened with a disheartening 34-7 defeat at USF and ended in similar fashion (38-10) against Washington in the LA Bowl, Spencer Danielson’s Broncos nonetheless won another Mountain West title.
Adjective
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The conflict feels contemporary without growing too cynical, and the core relationship stakes seem real without skewing hopeless.
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The situation of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank would almost certainly worsen and become more hopeless.
Adjective
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The storm let up before daybreak, but the morning was gray and cheerless with a cold wind.
Adjective
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Other areas of the West, such as California, have long enacted drought-control measures, prompting some homeowners to paint their grass green rather than see the dismal reminder of their lawn’s death.
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Despite their dismal start this year, the Royals still believe in their coaching staff.
Adjective
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The gloomy Jersey skies and rain didn’t deter fans — who were mostly in white English kits — from supporting The Three Lions in the match, one that felt like a game at Wembley Stadium considering the UK-like elements.
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The second reenactment takes place on the actual anniversary of Washington’s crossing — a freezing, snowy, gloomy Christmas Day in 1776.
Cite this Entry
“Unpropitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unpropitious. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
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