“+ adjective
Etymology: un- (I) + lucky
1. : characterized by adversity or failure
this has been an unlucky year for us
2. : seemingly presaging misfortune : ill-omened
born under an unlucky star
3. : having or meeting with bad luck
the unlucky prisoner was again put in irons — W.H.Prescott
4. dialect chiefly England : causing trouble or mischief
5. : producing dissatisfaction : regrettable
the unlucky fact is that … it is not a formal biography — Times Literary Supplement
Synonyms:
disastrous , ill-starred , ill-fated , unfortunate , luckless , hapless : unlucky implies that in spite of effort or merit one has bad luck, often chronically, or, as applied to an occasion or action, that it proves to be unfavorable, especially in outcome or consequences
if you're unlucky enough to lose or break your glasses — Richard Joseph
the loss of over $200,000 in an unlucky coffee speculation — H.G.Pearson
the child who is born on an unlucky day — Abram Kardiner
an unlucky throw of the dice
disastrous , applying to anything that is or brings calamity, applies often to anything that has a calamitous fate
a disastrous flood
in so disastrous a plight that he died on the following day — W.H.Prescott
a disastrous armaments race — Current Biography
a disastrous expedition against a superior force
ill-starred is interchangeable with disastrous both in the sense of bringing calamity
the ill-starred depression year of 1929 — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
and in the sense of having or doomed to have a calamitous fate
the return trip was ill-starred: they narrowly escaped a serious accident — Willa Cather
the ill-starred fellow is pummeled on deck — Herman Melville
the ill-starred lady who perished — Allen Upward
ill-fated is ill-starred in the second of the two senses suggested immediately above
an ill-fated expedition that perished at sea
unfortunate , though often interchangeable with unlucky , is weaker in implying mere bad luck
an unfortunate day at the races
and stronger in suggesting misfortune, misery, or desolation
expecting some unfortunate woman to instruct simultaneously a crowd of fifty urchins of all degrees of ignorance and stupidity — C.H.Grandgent
assist an unfortunate people suffering the calamities of war
though it can often mean only regrettable
the building was completed with unfortunate stylistic admixtures — American Guide Series: New York
luckless and hapless usually apply to a person or thing notably or chronically unfortunate
the luckless small investors were ruined — O.S.Nock
all his speculations had of late gone wrong with the luckless old gentleman — W.M.Thackeray
as the sea dried up, the hapless ship sank beneath shifting dunes — American Guide Series: California
these hapless creatures now wander as displaced persons — R.H.Jackson