ILL-FATED Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

ill-fated

adjective

ˈil-ˈfā-təd

Definition of ill-fated

as in unfortunate

having, prone to, or marked by bad luck the ill-fated trip ended in disaster for all

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of ill-fated So, where will Season 2 take us, Mayor Tom Loftis, and the rest of this wonderfully funny and spectacularly ill-fated island community? — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 11 June 2026 What the Pentagon Papers revealed is that the American government had reason to know all along that the venture was ill-fated. — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026 The series then retreats to 2019 to trace the circumstances that led to these killings, building toward the inevitability of Maggie and Paul’s death and filtering the whole family through a lens of catastrophe, where every member is either ill-fated or devious. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025 That plan proved ill-fated, however, when he got caught trying to bribe a city official. — Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 30 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for ill-fated

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-fated

Adjective

These unfortunate souls were supposed to stay in their birthplace, hoping church charity would sustain them.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
Artistic but flighty, Deborah ends up at her parents’ alma mater when an unfortunate incident gets her NYU Tisch School of the Arts acceptance rescinded.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of unfortunate

Adjective

Its success made Cohn a rich, if unhappy, man, at least for a long while.

— Lily Moayeri, SPIN, 6 Oct. 2026
What appeared to be a fairly normal election for a president halfway through his term — a probable setback, as unhappy voters register their discontent — has the potential, Cook said, to turn into a disaster for Republicans.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of unhappy

Adjective

In part, this is a story about the short-term desperation of Republicans in the face of midterms that seem set to be disastrous.

— Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
Formed in the aftermath of a disastrous mountain war with China in 1962, the ITBP operates in some of the most inhospitable terrain on Earth.

— Helen Regan, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of disastrous

Adjective

Fooling hapless web surfers into giving away their credentials by faking secure websites is easy, by comparison.

— Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 30 Sep. 2026
The destination of our hapless hero, a courier (Austin Abrams, absolutely awesome) who must transport an important package between medical facilities, is indeed the game’s residentially evil homebase of Racoon City.

— David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of hapless

Adjective

During these walking meditations my notebook starts to feel suspiciously similar to the luckless young climber’s selfie camera.

— Brian Laidlaw, Longreads, 1 Sep. 2026
This year, the final was between Kerry, historically the sport’s most successful side, and Mayo, one of Ireland’s smaller counties by population and, in football terms, the most luckless.

— Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 27 July 2026

Definition of luckless

Browse Nearby Words

illegitimate

ill-fated

ill-favored

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Style

“Ill-fated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-fated. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of ill-fated

adjective

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