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.
—
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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Those caught in tunnels faced a darker, more claustrophobic ordeal.—
Marianne Lehnis,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
-
For them, switching production to other countries such as India is an impossible ordeal.—
Shuli Ren,
Twin Cities,
16 May 2025
Noun
-
There’s an almost punk sensibility behind showing the gauntlet that Imogen Poots, playing Yuknavitch from her late teens to her thirties, is forced to run.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
17 May 2025
-
Opening the year at home against the Titans is nice, but Denver then hits a gauntlet: on the road against the Colts, on the road against the Chargers, at home against the Bengals, and then on the road at Philadelphia.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
14 May 2025
Noun
-
Animals with black fur are adopted less often as people associate the color with bad luck and misfortune, according to an article from Dogster.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Apr. 2025
-
As Snow White continues to face controversy and underwhelming box office numbers, Bill Maher is poking fun at the movie’s latest misfortune.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Out of the privation, the challenge, and the censure of slavery and the unfulfilled promise of post-Reconstruction justice, Black musicians embraced experimentation and innovation, ingenuity and joy, and a multigenerational call and response speaking truth to power that endures to the present day.—
Elizabeth Alexander,
Time,
1 Apr. 2025
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As a prisoner of war, Morris R. Wills faced a gamut of privations—he was left malnourished and consigned to filthy conditions amid the ever-present threat of execution.—
Nikhil Krishnan,
New Yorker,
31 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vicissitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vicissitude. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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