as in ordeals
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 vicissitudes
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vicissitudes
Noun
-
On Instagram, and even on her reality show, Kardashian comes across as thrillingly impervious, wearing impassivity like body armor and putting her body and face through Olympian ordeals to draw our collective gaze.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
-
In today’s housing market, even the lucky ones often face exhausting ordeals and need to stretch their budgets to land a home.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Mistakes, misfortunes, even tragedy, toxic secrets from the past—anything can happen, or may have happened.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Oct. 2025
-
According to local belief, sending a lantern upward helps cleanse a person’s spirit and eases their misfortunes, clearing the path for good luck in the coming year.—
Sarah Buder,
AFAR Media,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
On Saturday, representatives from APEC's 21 member countries acknowledged challenges facing the global trade system and supply chains in a joint declaration.—
Se Eun Gong,
NPR,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Mikie Sherrill had two main challenges.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Laporta arrived armed with a plan to fix Barcelona’s money troubles — and was keen to blame as much of the situation as possible on the Bartomeu regime.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Michel’s legal troubles have been compounded by health concerns.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
At seventy, Padura is a voice of a generation that endured a long war in Angola and the privations that followed the Soviet collapse.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vicissitudes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vicissitudes. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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