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
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
But Hynes details life’s vicissitudes with poetic exactitude.
—Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vicissitude
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
But Hynes details life’s vicissitudes with poetic exactitude.
—Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vicissitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vicissitude
Noun
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He was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Citizens Medal and published a memoir about the ordeal.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Yes, gulping the liquid the night before was an ordeal — try drinking three liters of anything in three hours, going to sleep, then waking up six hours later for one final liter.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In the final, Black & Alshon threw down the gauntlet, beating the top pair in three straight for gold.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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Amid the gauntlet of billboards touting fast food, urgent care and gasoline, along busy Route 41 is one that stands out more than ever now.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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There’s some luck involved with that, but there’s far more to it than misfortune.—
Sam McDowell
February 5,
Kansas City Star,
5 Feb. 2026
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This was a window where Villa had to adjust to injury misfortune and, all the while, satisfy Emery’s wishes for improvement.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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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
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Diaries kept by Eugenia Zieber describe the privations of the trail, chief among them the frequent deaths of fellow travelers.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vicissitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vicissitude. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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