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
Roman Pavlyuchenko was also unlucky to miss out - 45% of his 20 Premier League goals came as a substitute for Tottenham.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Your friend was unlucky that she took a tumble on those basement stairs.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Here it was again, the unlucky thing, in its brightly colored paper jacket.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
"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
"Now, was there ever an unluckier mortal on earth than I?"
From Tales of the Wonder Club, Volume II by Alexander Huth
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
A couple who got married in a cemetery on what is supposedly the unluckiest day of the year have said the day was "pretty perfect".
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2024
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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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
