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Definition of "unfortunate" []

  • Characterized by undeserved bad luck; unlucky. (adjective)
  • Causing misfortune; disastrous. (adjective)
  • Regrettable; deplorable: an unfortunate lack of good manners. (adjective)
  • A victim of bad luck. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "unfortunate" in a sentence
  • "Had he not said the unfortunate had a claim on all honorable men, and surely he was a man an _unfortunate_ might apply to, if any man was?"
  • "'A most unfortunate circumstance -- a most _unfortunate_ circumstance."
  • "_unfortunate_ client for whom it is my privilege to appear, "said a young barrister, making his first essay in Westminster Hall --" the unfortunate client, my lord, for whom I appear -- hem! hem!"