unlucky
Americanadjective
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(of a person) not lucky; lacking good fortune; ill-fated.
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(of an event or circumstance) inauspicious or characterized by misfortune; ominous.
adjective
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characterized by misfortune or failure
an unlucky person
an unlucky chance
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ill-omened; inauspicious
an unlucky date
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regrettable; disappointing
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dialect causing trouble; mischievous
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unlucky
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.
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Nathan Fielder fashions a fascinating portrait of Elizabeth Holmes; Mike Flanagan adapts ‘Carrie’ for the modern age; John Turturro plays an unlucky New York pickpocket; and much, much more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
He presents himself as unlucky in relationships and while interviewing her, seems to develop genuine feelings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Jair Cunha: Has become a dependable member of Oliver Glasner's side and was unlucky when Madueke's shot clipped him and flew in.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
The previous episode - watched on Thursday by 10 million people - saw another faithful, unlucky Industry star Myha'la, follow self-sabotaging traitor Richard E Grant out of the castle.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
“Of course it’s unlucky to kill a spider!” shouted the Centipede.
From "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl
"We couldn't have been unluckier than that. This is not what we were expecting," said Harmanpreet.
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2023
"Is there anyone unluckier than me?" said Xiaohongshu user "sanmingliu", who posted photos of her shipping container room.
From Reuters ● Nov. 2, 2022
Meanwhile, there are tens of thousands of unluckier Afghans who did not manage to board a flight to the United States last summer.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 28, 2022
We saw that, though we were born in far unluckier places, we have all the same talents as our Western-born peers.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2019
I can; and, Master, unluckier than I am I cannot be, so that life is little to me.
From A Prince of Cornwall A Story of Glastonbury and the West in the Days of Ina of Wessex by Charles W. (Charles Watts) Whistler
The first thing that had to go right was an unbelievable stroke of luck on the unluckiest night of Tatum’s life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
They have been called “the unluckiest generation” in U.S. history.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 10, 2026
He added: “She was the unluckiest person I’d ever heard of.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
An early pit stop and a limited tyre allocation boxed Aston and Alonso in, and he bemoaned on the radio that he was "the unluckiest driver ever" as he slumped to an 11th-place finish.
From BBC ● May 18, 2025
But unluckiest of all was the shooter who completely missed a walker: he faced both a one-point deduction and a lifetime of ribbing.
From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli
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