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
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
How should those future retirees be investing today to best weather the vicissitudes of tomorrow?
—Eamon Barrett, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for vicissitude
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
How should those future retirees be investing today to best weather the vicissitudes of tomorrow?
—Eamon Barrett, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for vicissitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vicissitude
Noun
-
During the nine-month-long ordeal, the then-14-year-old was subjected to daily rapes and endured physical abuse and starvation.—
Stephanie Kaloi,
PEOPLE,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Meanwhile, in the present timeline, Max and Thaddeus are led to The Ghoul, bruised and battered from his ordeal in Freeside — but alive, crucially.—
Jack King,
Vulture,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Adams had carefully shepherded it through an often-recalcitrant City Council and through the gauntlet of demands coming from both the real estate lobby and pro-housing advocates.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
1 Jan. 2026
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However, according to Sounwave, Lamar’s chief producer and longtime friend, GNX was in the works long before any gauntlets were thrown.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
30 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The 26-year-old pop star Audrey Hobert kicked off her first major solo tour in December with a brief stroke of misfortune.—
Carrie Battan,
Vulture,
15 Jan. 2026
-
The Mavericks’ injury misfortune worsened during Wednesday’s primetime matchup against the Denver Nuggets.—
Mike Curtis,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
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 22 Jan. 2026.
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