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
During the past 20 years, the newsroom has been hit with pay cuts, layoffs and furloughs on an almost yearly basis as the company attempts to respond to both the economy and the vicissitudes of an industry in constant flux.
—
John D'anna, azcentral, 19 May 2020
People who pay attention to the vicissitudes of Tesla CEO Elon Musk know that the man is not always serious on Twitter.
—Aarian Marshall, Wired, 10 May 2020
This last element—a form of legal financing called third-party litigation funding—proliferated during the 2008 recession, in part because lawsuits are somewhat insulated from the vicissitudes of the market.
—Francesca Mari, The Atlantic, 16 Apr. 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
See All Example Sentences for vicissitude
John D'anna, azcentral, 19 May 2020
People who pay attention to the vicissitudes of Tesla CEO Elon Musk know that the man is not always serious on Twitter.
—Aarian Marshall, Wired, 10 May 2020
This last element—a form of legal financing called third-party litigation funding—proliferated during the 2008 recession, in part because lawsuits are somewhat insulated from the vicissitudes of the market.
—Francesca Mari, The Atlantic, 16 Apr. 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
See All Example Sentences for vicissitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vicissitude
Noun
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See the full list of competitors and their partners, then press PLAY on the video above to watch Julianne Hough take a deep dive into her medical ordeal.—
Claire Franken,
TVLine,
4 Sep. 2025
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Just over 1,500 children have been rescued from Russia, with almost half of those facilitated by Save Ukraine, a charity dedicated to the return of Russian children who helped Katya get back to Ukrainian territory after her weekslong ordeal in the military camp.—
Guy Davies,
ABC News,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The kitchen needs to turn out three meals a day that are creative enough to draw in finicky locals, anodyne enough to satisfy an international clientele, and sturdy enough to survive the room-service gauntlet.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
31 Aug. 2025
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Title contenders in the gauntlet that is the Western Conference could also share that mentality.—
Bobby Krivitsky,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
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And yet the Dolphins have found a way to remain masters of mediocrity, prolonging the NFL’s longest playoff win drought with a combination of misfortune and missteps.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
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Savannah Guthrie had the misfortune of learning this in a very public forum — live on Today — this week.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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At first, the complaints from workers who'd escaped -- detailing forced labor, privation and torture -- had seemed extraordinary to Rezende.—
Terrence McCoy The Washington Post,
Arkansas Online,
31 Aug. 2025
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In light of the extraordinary privations and mass killing of Gaza’s civilian population in the current war, Hamas’s external leader, Khaled Meshaal, has likened Gaza to Algeria, where independence was achieved only after the death of more than a million civilians.—
Leila Seurat,
Foreign Affairs,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vicissitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vicissitude. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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