misfortune

[mis-fawr-chuhn]

noun

1. adverse fortune; bad luck.

2. an instance of this; mischance; mishap.

   Synonyms: blow, reverse, catastrophe, calamity, disaster, accident

misfortune

/ mɪsˈfɔːtʃən /

noun

1. evil fortune; bad luck

2. an unfortunate or disastrous event; calamity

Word History and Origins

Origin of misfortune¹

1400–50; late Middle English. See mis- ¹, fortune

Synonym Study

See affliction.

Example Sentences

Accidents and misfortunes, especially being captured in wartime, could lead to enslavement.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Practical advice from one Charles Dickens in “Sketches by Boz”: “Reflect upon your present blessings—of which every man has many—not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

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The thought of Andy Robertson and John McGinn dragging their bags of Scotland misfortune up to the football gods in exchange for a World Cup appearance is quite the image.

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If misfortune struck and a family could no longer afford to keep their dacha, the shame was terrible.

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Despite all of her misfortunes, self-inflicted or otherwise, Allen held her head high, beating the notoriously brutal British tabloids at their own game — or, at the very least, becoming a formative opponent.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• adversity 
• affliction 
• bad luck 
• calamity 
• cataclysm 
• catastrophe 
• debacle 
• disadvantage 
• disappointment 
• discomfort 
• hardship 
• inconvenience 
• misadventure 
• misery 
• mishap 
• setback 
• tragedy 
• tribulation