misadventure

[mis-uhd-ven-cher]

noun

1. an instance of bad fortune; mishap.

   Synonyms: catastrophe, calamity, disaster, accident, mischance

misadventure

/ ˌmɪsədˈvɛntʃə /

noun

1. an unlucky event; misfortune

2. law accidental death not due to crime or negligence

Word History and Origins

Origin of misadventure¹

1250–1300; mis- ¹ + adventure; replacing Middle English mesaventure < Old French

Example Sentences

An inquest into his death found Oli died as a result of misadventure.

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Once more she tried to interest herself in the sweet misadventures of Edith-Anne Pevington, who not only lived with two loving and easily locatable parents but had her own pony to boot.

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A coroner's office in Australia had recorded a conclusion of "misadventure", but coroner John Gittens said he felt a conclusion of "accident" was more appropriate under UK coroner's law.

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Perhaps the fissure should bring to mind Nordic depression, or familial misadventures in communication.

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Unforced but ever-present in Reichardt’s mise-en-scène, they remind us that this bored aesthete’s misadventure is an especially empty way to buck conformity.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• blunder 
• misfortune 
• woe