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.
See Examples For:
"Being impacted by such a rare, distant projectile really underscores how unlucky the dinosaurs were," says Dr. Claeys.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
Before Friday, Son recorded nine assists but no goals over 13 unlucky matches this season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
If you’re unlucky enough to have gotten the bug yourself, pretty bad!
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
Western Asset Management has 13 — unlucky for some — closed-end funds currently trading on the stock market.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
It is an unlucky time for travelers and for the sick; children are not given their true name during the Fallows, and no Deeds are sung, nor swords nor edge-tools sharpened, nor oaths sworn.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
"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
“It is very unlucky to love, and to lose that which you cherish, but it is unluckier still never to know the meaning of love, or to find ‘Him 289 whom your soul loveth.’
From Turn About Eleanor by Cootes, F. Graham
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
Mr Beer wasn’t impressed and asked her: “Do you think you’re the unluckiest CEO in history?”
From BBC ● May 24, 2024
How did one of football’s unluckiest franchises manage to blow things this badly?
From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2024
“It’s the unluckiest thing you can have on a racetrack.”
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
