as in ordeal
a negative event or circumstance that is common to a particular setting or situation and is usually beyond one's control
The vicissitudes of medical school proved too much for the anxious student.
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Recent Examples of vicissitude
Whatever its reputation, the OIGC is still subject to the vicissitudes of other arts organizations.
—
Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 1 Dec. 2025
By using non-actors who have endured the vicissitudes of the world, Laxe didn’t have to develop the characters in a conventional way.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 12 Nov. 2025
Renaissance has prided itself on a debt-free history, despite the vicissitudes of performing arts fundraising.
—Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 24 Sep. 2025
Mere knick-knacks, which have all disappeared with the vicissitudes of years.
—Adam Verner
september 3, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vicissitude
Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 1 Dec. 2025
By using non-actors who have endured the vicissitudes of the world, Laxe didn’t have to develop the characters in a conventional way.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 12 Nov. 2025
Renaissance has prided itself on a debt-free history, despite the vicissitudes of performing arts fundraising.
—Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 24 Sep. 2025
Mere knick-knacks, which have all disappeared with the vicissitudes of years.
—Adam Verner
september 3, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vicissitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vicissitude
Noun
-
Authorities quickly concluded the allegations were unfounded and found no injuries on the boy, but Kang said the ordeal traumatized both her and her 8-year-old daughter from another relationship, who was also interviewed by investigators.—
Joe Nelson,
Daily News,
20 May 2026
-
Far from an indictment of large language models, the ordeal revealed that even the country’s most prestigious attorneys rely on such services.—
Max Raskin,
Washington Post,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Commuters in New York City’s suburbs navigated a gauntlet of car, bus and subway routes to get to work Monday after a strike on the Long Island Rail Road that shut down the nation’s busiest commuter rail system entered its third day.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
-
Turner snaked through the gauntlet, as his teammates playfully slapped and shoved him around.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
Does White’s misfortune offer Alexander-Arnold a route back?—
The Athletic UK Staff,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
-
Farmers markets — that humble and charming throwback to a bygone era — are also struggling with higher fuel prices, after weathering the economic calamities of the pandemic and other misfortunes.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
Meanwhile, the European settlers, underprepared for actual conditions in the region, suffered great privations, and only 1,500 remained by 1832.—
Britannica Editors,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
19 Mar. 2026
-
The earthly experience of personal grief and privation that inspired such transcendent beauty is mind-bending in its own way.—
Eric Bulson,
The Atlantic,
2 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Vicissitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vicissitude. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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