noun
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evil fortune; bad luck
-
an unfortunate or disastrous event; calamity
Synonym Usage
See affliction.
Etymology
Origin of misfortune
Explanation
On a gloomy day, you may feel compelled to list your misfortunes: a broken umbrella, a broken heart, a broken toe. Misfortune means bad luck or the state of having bad luck. Break misfortune into its parts and you get mis- meaning bad and fortune meaning chance or luck. Sometimes it can feel like misfortune follows you. Picture it as a gloomy psychic named "Miss Fortune" who can only see the bad things in your future.
Vocabulary lists containing misfortune
Power Prefix: mis-
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"The Experiment" and "Superstition"
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Girl with a Pearl Earring
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Misfortune has piled on the supreme leader since the Oct.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 17, 2026
Misfortune seemed its destiny, yet still it endured.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2023
Misfortune and triumph just days apart shows the need for rigorous preparation to conquer Everest and survive in the most hostile conditions, experts say.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2023
Misfortune haunts them until the arrival of a pair of mysterious, possibly angelic visitors, portrayed by Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury.
From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2018
Misfortune has hardened her, which is just as well, she will take many a knock yet.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
