unfortunate
Americanadjective
-
suffering from bad luck.
an unfortunate person.
- Synonyms:
- hapless, unsuccessful
-
unfavorable or inauspicious.
an unfortunate beginning.
-
regrettable or deplorable.
an unfortunate remark.
-
marked by or inviting misfortune.
an unfortunate development.
-
lamentable; sad.
the unfortunate death of her parents.
noun
-
unfortunates
plural
adjective
-
causing or attended by misfortune
-
unlucky, unsuccessful, or unhappy
an unfortunate character
-
regrettable or unsuitable
an unfortunate speech
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of unfortunate
Explanation
Something unfortunate is something that you wished had not happened — like that unfortunate incident that got you suspended from school. Let's not bring that up. Unfortunate can also describe unlucky circumstances. A natural disaster like an earthquake or a tornado will always have unfortunate consequences. You can even use unfortunate as a noun to identify someone or something not favored by fortune — like the unfortunates whose lives were shattered by the earthquake.
Vocabulary lists containing unfortunate
Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
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Vocabulary from the Songs of "The Little Mermaid"
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Schooled
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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.
See Examples For:
“That part was unfortunate; another two-year wait, and then, who knows?” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
It is unfortunate, too, in the sense that the Brewers are not some plucky underdog but the team that won the most games in the NL this year and last year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
But the film merely gestures to its own unfortunate place in history, without ever cementing it as a tragedy.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
The timing of the VSC was very unfortunate for those who started on hard tyres because it coincided with the pit-stop window for those on mediums.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
So did everyone else, even ‘Croaker’ as the girls called the old lady, and the unfortunate dinner ended gaily, with bread and butter, olives and fun.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Now that I’ve seen the show – me, and the few thousand other unfortunates rubbernecking at this terrible accident – I’m here to assure you that this was never about us.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
As for so many unfortunates before me, it was the big city and all its glittering temptations that brought about my ruin.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 17, 2020
“I’m very aware that I’m that close to being out on the street like those other poor unfortunates, and they’re everywhere,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2018
Worse yet, the percentage of such unfortunates who are unrepresented by counsel has skyrocketed in recent decades.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2017
“He’s out trying to help some other unfortunates right now. It’s encouraging to know that his idealism is still intact.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
