unfortunate

unfortunate
[[t]ʌnfɔ͟ː(r)tʃʊnət[/t]]
unfortunates
1) ADJ-GRADED If you describe someone as unfortunate, you mean that something unpleasant or unlucky has happened to them. You can also describe the unpleasant things that happen to them as unfortunate.

Some unfortunate person passing below could all too easily be seriously injured...

Apparently he had been unfortunate enough to fall victim to a gang of thugs...

Through some unfortunate accident, the information reached me a day late...

It was unfortunate for Davey that his teacher did not take kindly to him.

Syn:
2) ADJ-GRADED If you describe something that has happened as unfortunate, you think that it is inappropriate, embarrassing, awkward, or undesirable.

It really is desperately unfortunate that this should have happened just now.

...the unfortunate incident of the upside-down Canadian flag...

He made the unfortunate mistake of promising he would quit if the budget deficit was still out of control.

Syn:
3) ADJ-GRADED You can describe someone as unfortunate when they are poor or have a difficult life.

Every year we have charity days to raise money for unfortunate people.

...the unfortunate inhabitants of the East End slums.

N-COUNT
An unfortunate is someone who is unfortunate.

Dorothy was another of life's unfortunates.


English dictionary. 2008.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Unfortunate — Un*for tu*nate, a. Not fortunate; unsuccessful; not prosperous; unlucky; attended with misfortune; unhappy; as, an unfortunate adventure; an unfortunate man; an unfortunate commander; unfortunate business. n. An unfortunate person. Hood. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • unfortunate — (adj.) 1520s, unlucky, from UN (Cf. un ) (1) not + FORTUNATE (Cf. fortunate). Infortunate in same sense is from late 14c. (along with a verb infortune to render unhappy, and a noun meaning bad luck). In late 18c. early 19c., unfortunate woman was …   Etymology dictionary

  • unfortunate — [unfôr′chə nit] adj. 1. a) having bad luck; unlucky b) bringing, or coming by, bad luck; unfavorable 2. not suitable or successful n. an unfortunate person unfortunately adv …   English World dictionary

  • unfortunate — index adverse (negative), deplorable, derelict (abandoned), dire, harmful, inopportune, lamentable …   Law dictionary

  • unfortunate — *unlucky, disastrous, ill starred, ill fated, calamitous, luckless, hapless Analogous words: baleful, malefic, *sinister: *miserable, wretched: unhappy, infelicitous (see UNFIT) Antonyms: fortunate Contrasted words: *lucky, providential, happy …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • unfortunate — [adj] unlucky, bad adverse, afflicted, broken, burdened, calamitous, cursed, damaging, deplorable, desperate, destitute, disastrous, doomed, forsaken, hapless, hopeless, ill fated, ill starred, in a bad way*, inappropriate, infelicitous,… …   New thesaurus

  • unfortunate — ► ADJECTIVE 1) having bad fortune; unlucky. 2) regrettable or inappropriate. ► NOUN ▪ a person who suffers bad fortune. DERIVATIVES unfortunately adverb …   English terms dictionary

  • unfortunate — un|for|tu|nate1 S3 [ʌnˈfo:tʃənət US ˈfo:r ] adj 1.) someone who is unfortunate has something bad happen to them ▪ When we entered the room, the teacher was yelling at some unfortunate student. 2.) an unfortunate situation, condition, quality etc… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • unfortunate — 1 adjective 1 happening because of bad luck and often having serious or dangerous results: an unfortunate accident | his unfortunate death at the height of his career 2 an unfortunate situation is one that you wish was different or had never… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • unfortunate — I UK [ʌnˈfɔː(r)tʃ(ə)nət] / US [ʌnˈfɔrtʃənət] adjective ** 1) experiencing bad luck, or caused by bad luck The unfortunate victims of the pension fund fraud are unlikely to get their money back. 2) a) formal if something is unfortunate, you do not …   English dictionary

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