star-crossed
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of star-crossed
First recorded in 1585–95
Explanation
When it seems like you're doomed to have bad luck, you're star-crossed. You may feel like your camping plans are star-crossed if it rains every time you head into the woods with your sleeping bag. Shakespeare coined this term in the prologue of Romeo and Juliet, when he described his tragic protagonists as "a pair of star-cross'd lovers." Right off the bat, he made it clear that these two will have terrible luck as they repeatedly try to be together. The stars themselves seem to be working against them, an idea that reflected the common 16th-century belief that the position of the stars could control a person's fate.
Vocabulary lists containing star-crossed
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.
By contrast, John M. Stahl’s stupendous 1939 melodrama “When Tomorrow Comes”—with Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne in a labor-relations tale turned hurricane-beset, star-crossed love story—was in sparkling black and white.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
A vibrating violin behind a fiery curtain and a song about star-crossed planets are among the favourites to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
Their retelling imagines the star-crossed lovers meeting later in life, repositioning the story from a perspective of age and experience, with the title characters aged in their 40s.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
With time running out to save its star-crossed season, USC put itself in position for a statement-making Saturday, only to see that dream devolve into a nightmare in an 82-67 loss to No. 12 Nebraska.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2026
We star-crossed lovers from District 12, who suffered so much and enjoyed so little the rewards of our victory, do not seek the fans’ favor, grace them with our smiles, or catch their kisses.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
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.
