Definitions

bad luck

NOUN

rotten break

Synonyms

STRONGEST

adversity hard time hardship misfortune setback tragedy

WEAK

bad break blow devil's own luck hard cheese hard luck ill luck mischance raw deal reverse rotten luck tough break tough luck

Antonyms

STRONGEST

advantage blessing boon favor success

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.

She treats him compassionately, seeing him as a person with an unusually difficult background, and wants us to relate to him as though, given similar bad luck, we could easily be in his position.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

The 28-year-old won the first race of the season in Australia, and lost out on victories in China and Japan through bad luck.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

If you have the bad luck of experiencing a market downturn at the outset, your slope of growth will forever be lower.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

In the author’s words, “early childbearing, backbreaking labor, and bad luck were family traditions.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

All Felix could think about was the bad luck that always accompanied bad decisions.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

bad luck

Example Sentences

Related Words