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
People who pay attention to the vicissitudes of Tesla CEO Elon Musk know that the man is not always serious on Twitter.
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Aarian Marshall, Wired, 10 May 2020
The vicissitudes of history always challenge us in new and often confounding ways; that’s in the nature of things.
—Jon Meacham, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2020
All of the biggest corporate mergers, the deals that determine the vicissitudes of our global markets, happen within their walls.
—Rachel Epstein, Marie Claire, 30 Mar. 2020
Sport is usually a constant -- a field, court, track or course that is resistant to the vicissitudes of the world around us.
—George Ramsay, CNN, 12 Mar. 2020
See all Example Sentences for vicissitude 
Aarian Marshall, Wired, 10 May 2020
The vicissitudes of history always challenge us in new and often confounding ways; that’s in the nature of things.
—Jon Meacham, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2020
All of the biggest corporate mergers, the deals that determine the vicissitudes of our global markets, happen within their walls.
—Rachel Epstein, Marie Claire, 30 Mar. 2020
Sport is usually a constant -- a field, court, track or course that is resistant to the vicissitudes of the world around us.
—George Ramsay, CNN, 12 Mar. 2020
See all Example Sentences for vicissitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vicissitude
Noun
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Jamie Foxx is setting the record straight about his mysterious medical ordeal.Eric Andersson, People.com, 6 Dec. 2024
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Even her description of chemotherapy—her stomach outlined, her internal organs individually asserting themselves—suggests that what her ordeal gave her was a kind of unbearable self-awareness.Molly Fischer, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2024
Noun
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By keeping the narrative in the present tense, Eisenberg throws down a cinematic gauntlet, of bringing history to life in the present tense, photographically and dramatically.Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
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Of the first 48 hits Houston accumulated during this seven-game gauntlet, 37 were singles.Chandler Rome, The Athletic, 28 Aug. 2024
Noun
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As misfortune would have it, Shiffrin’s partner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde also suffered a serious incident on the slopes just a few weeks before her own accident.Ben Church, CNN, 30 Nov. 2024
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Yes, but: Despite his misfortunes in Colorado, Trump made a campaign stop in the state Oct. 11 to highlight immigration and border security.John Frank, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
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But envisioning the privation that followed, with Panguna shut down, requires little imagination.Sean Williams, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
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Saunders and Gamble dig into the domestic privations of poverty — the lack of food and heat, the shame of wearing the same old clothes every day, the constant worry about what’s next.Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Vicissitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vicissitude. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
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