Word forms: comparative unluckier, superlative unluckiest
1. adjective [oft ADJECTIVE to-infinitive]
If someone is unlucky, they have bad luck.
Owen was unlucky not to score on two occasions.
Others were unlucky victims of falling debris.
2. adjective
You can use unlucky to describe unpleasant things which happen to someone, especially when you feel that the person does not deserve them.
...our team's unlucky defeat by the Rovers.
3. adjective
Unlucky is used to describe something that is thought to cause bad luck.
Some people think it is unlucky to look at a new moon through glass.
More Synonyms of unlucky
unlucky in British English
(ʌnˈlʌkɪ)
adjective
1.
characterized by misfortune or failure
an unlucky person
an unlucky chance
2.
ill-omened; inauspicious
an unlucky date
3.
regrettable; disappointing
4. British dialect
causing trouble; mischievous
Derived forms
unluckily (unˈluckily)
adverb
unluckiness (unˈluckiness)
noun
unlucky in American English
(ʌnˈlʌki)
adjectiveWord forms: unˈluckier or unˈluckiest
not lucky; having, attended with, bringing, or involving bad luck; unfortunate, ill-fated, or ill-omened
Derived forms
unluckily (unˈluckily)
adverb
Examples of 'unlucky' in a sentence
unlucky
But his team gave it a real go and were a bit unlucky not to come away with a point.
The Sun (2016)
Some unlucky people have to fight squirrels as well as mice, and for them a cap of fine chicken wire can be the only solution.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We were a little bit unlucky in one or two situations, then the goalkeeper saves and it is 0-0.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Here we look at other unlucky winners.
The Sun (2013)
There were unlucky people who they killed right there.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
If he is found guilty he will feel unlucky.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Very unlucky not to win it at the end.
The Sun (2014)
Any bird unlucky enough to get trapped would have suffered a lingering death.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
But we had chances and were unlucky not to get the goal.
The Sun (2012)
We were a bit unlucky with the group.
The Sun (2013)
This filly struck first time out last season and was unlucky not to win more.
The Sun (2010)
We have played well and been a bit unlucky.
The Sun (2015)
Of course you could be unlucky and not win anything.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There has also been a rise in the number of people unlucky enough to be allergic to both.
The Sun (2009)
Does he feel he was unlucky in getting to the top just as the good years came to an end?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
He was unlucky enough to clip a police car as he made his getaway and then he shot a light.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
He had been unlucky enough to run into a party of the bandits whom he had been told plagued these hills.
Iain Gale Man of Honour (2007)
On board, you get to see if your unlucky seat numbers have come up.
The Sun (2013)
Many people reckon 13 is an unlucky number.
The Sun (2008)
He looked really unlucky as he found stacks of trouble but he was getting 4lb.
The Sun (2012)
If so you feeling unlucky - but are not alone.
The Sun (2007)
We'll also find out a bit more about the unlucky person who got voted off the show tonight.
The Sun (2006)
He looked unlucky when finding traffic problems at Goodwood last month and he remains a horse to be interested in.
The Sun (2014)
This situation isn't her fault or yours, just an unlucky coincidence.
The Sun (2007)
For the Chinese, the number four is unlucky.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Derby's pants were firmly around their ankles and they stumbled to the most unlucky of Wembley defeats.
The Sun (2014)
It is unlucky, but I am not an unlucky person.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Quotations
now and then there is a person born who is so unlucky that he runs into accidents which started to happen to someone elseDon Marquisarchys life of mehitabel
In other languages
unlucky
British English: unlucky /ʌnˈlʌkɪ/ ADJECTIVE
If you are unlucky, you have bad luck.
They were unlucky not to reach the finals.
American English: unlucky
Arabic: غَيْرُ مَحْظُوظ
Brazilian Portuguese: azarado
Chinese: 不幸的
Croatian: nesretan
Czech: nešťastný smolařský
Danish: uheldig
Dutch: ongelukkig
European Spanish: desafortunado
Finnish: huono-onninen
French: malchanceux
German: Pech haben
Greek: άτυχος
Italian: sfortunato
Japanese: 運の悪い
Korean: 불운한
Norwegian: uheldig
Polish: pechowy
European Portuguese: azarado
Romanian: ghinionist
Russian: неудачный
Latin American Spanish: desafortunado
Swedish: oturlig
Thai: โชคร้าย
Turkish: şanssız
Ukrainian: нещасливий
Vietnamese: không may mắn
Chinese translation of 'unlucky'
unlucky
(ʌnˈlʌkɪ)
adj
[person]不幸的 (bùxìng de)
[object, number]不吉利的 (bù jílì de)
he was unlucky enough to lose his wallet他丢(丟)了钱(錢)包，真是太倒霉了 (tā diūle qiánbāo, zhēnshi tài dǎoméi le)
we were unlucky not to win真不走运(運)，我们(們)没(沒)赢(贏) (zhēn bù zǒuyùn, wǒmen méi yíng)
1 (adjective)
Definition
caused by bad luck or misfortune
Argentina's unlucky defeat by Ireland
Synonyms
unfortunate
charity days to raise money for unfortunate people
unhappy
I have already informed your unhappy father of your expulsion.
disastrous
the recent, disastrous earthquake
Opposites
happy
,
lucky
,
fortunate
,
favoured
, blessed,
prosperous
,
miserable
,
unsuccessful
,
hapless
,
luckless
,
wretched
2 (adjective)
Definition
regarded as likely to bring about bad luck
13 was to prove an unlucky number.
Synonyms
ill-fated
They are now home after their ill-fated trip abroad.
doomed
The attempt was doomed from the start.
inauspicious
The meeting got off to an inauspicious start.
ominous
There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.
untimely
Your readers would have seen the article as at best untimely.
unfavourable
Unfavourable economic conditions were blocking a recovery.
cursed
The whole family seemed cursed.
ill-starred
an ill-starred attempt to create jobs in a deprived area
ill-omened
Quotation
now and then there is a person born who is so unlucky that he runs into accidents which started to happen to someone else [Don Marquis – archys life of mehitabel]
Additional synonyms
in the sense of cursed
Definition
under a curse
The whole family seemed cursed.
Synonyms
under a curse,
damned,
doomed,
unholy,
jinxed,
bedevilled,
fey (Scottish),
excommunicate,
star-crossed,
accursed,
foredoomed,
unsanctified,
ill-fated
in the sense of disastrous
the recent, disastrous earthquake
Synonyms
terrible,
devastating,
tragic,
fatal,
unfortunate,
dreadful,
destructive,
unlucky,
harmful,
adverse,
dire,
catastrophic,
detrimental,
untoward,
ruinous,
calamitous,
cataclysmic,
ill-starred,
unpropitious,
ill-fated,
cataclysmal
in the sense of doomed
The attempt was doomed from the start.
Synonyms
hopeless,
condemned,
ill-fated,
fated,
unhappy,
unfortunate,
cursed,
unlucky,
blighted,
hapless,
bedevilled,
luckless,
ill-starred,
star-crossed,
ill-omened
Synonyms of 'unlucky'
unlucky
Explore 'unlucky' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of ill-starred
Definition
very unlucky or unfortunate
an ill-starred attempt to create jobs in a deprived area
Synonyms
doomed,
unfortunate,
unlucky,
unhappy,
hapless,
inauspicious,
star-crossed,
ill-omened,
ill-fated
in the sense of inauspicious
Definition
unlucky
The meeting got off to an inauspicious start.
Synonyms
unpromising,
bad,
unfortunate,
discouraging,
unlucky,
ominous,
unfavourable,
black,
untoward,
ill-omened,
unpropitious,
bodeful
in the sense of ominous
Definition
warning of evil
There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.
Synonyms
threatening,
menacing,
sinister,
dark,
forbidding,
grim,
fateful,
foreboding,
unpromising,
portentous,
baleful,
inauspicious,
premonitory,
unpropitious,
minatory,
bodeful
in the sense of unfavourable
Definition
making a successful or positive outcome unlikely
Unfavourable economic conditions were blocking a recovery.
Synonyms
adverse,
bad,
unfortunate,
disadvantageous,
threatening,
contrary,
unlucky,
ominous,
untimely,
untoward,
unpromising,
unsuited,
inauspicious,
ill-suited,
inopportune,
unseasonable,
unpropitious,
infelicitous
in the sense of unhappy
Definition
unfortunate or wretched
I have already informed your unhappy father of your expulsion.
Synonyms
unlucky,
unfortunate,
hapless,
luckless,
cursed,
wretched,
ill-omened,
ill-fated
in the sense of untimely
Definition
inappropriate to the occasion or time
Your readers would have seen the article as at best untimely.