misfortune
mis·for·tune (mis fôr′c̸hən)
noun
- bad luck; ill fortune; trouble; adversity
- an instance of this; unlucky accident; mishap; mischance
misfortune
n.
Bad luck
back luck, ill fortune, ill luck, adversity, affliction, adverse fortune, trouble, hardship, disadvantage, mischance, disappointment, reversal, setback, hard luck*, vexatiousness, discomfort, distress, loss, hard times, unpleasantness, untowardness, worry, anxiety, hard knocks. Antonyms
good fortune, luck, advantage. An unlucky accident
mishap, calamity, accident, misadventure, unlucky accident, disaster, reversal, disappointment, setback, mischance, blow, contretemps, comedown, tough break*; see also disaster. See syn. study at affliction.
Converse of object
- endure: Enduring all misfortunes by the grace of Christ, thou didst unceasingly sing to Him: Alleluia.
- suffer: Slip, Trip or Fall Claims You may have suffered the misfortune to trip or fall on a poorly maintained road or pavement.
- have: For the second match running, we had the misfortune to have a no height in the pole vault.
- bring: The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.
- avoid: In India, the fat skimmed from the top of the broth was supposed to help children avoid misfortune.
- cause: Without proper funeral rites, the spirit of the deceased will cause misfortune to its family.
Converse of subject
- dog: The journey was dogged by misfortune and all the men died only 11 miles from safety.
- plague: Clive and C5 in happier days The business has been plagued by misfortune.
Adjective modifier
- terrible: How can one today not be sensitive to her terrible misfortune?
- great: There is no greater misfortune than not to be able to bear misfortune.
- own: Our own misfortune or bad luck always get us laughing.
- past: Jesus turns the focus from past misfortune to present repentance.
- personal: Not being able to help or offer first aid can be a very frustrating and guilt inducing personal misfortune.
- similar: Unfortunately, the football, badminton and netball teams had similar misfortunes.
Noun used with modifier
- family: Because of family misfortune Laby had to make his way by force of character and ability.
Possessives
- people: The Darwin Awards Do you find it refreshing to enjoy tales of other people's misfortunes?
- someone: Let's face it, practically all humor is based around someone's misfortune.
Preposition: of
Le bonheur engloutit nos forces, comme le malheur e¤ teint nos vertus. Happiness engulfs our strength, just as misfortune extinguishes our virtues.
It is the misfortune of an old man that though he can put things out of his head he can't put them out of his feelings.
Dans l'adversite¤ de nos meilleurs amis, nous trouvons toujours quelque chose qui ne nous de¤ pla|"t pas. In the misfortune of our best friends, we always find something which is not displeasing to us.
Calamity, n. A more than commonly plain and unmistakable reminder that the affairs of this life are not of our own ordering.Calamities are of two kinds: misfortune to ourselves, and good fortune to others.
Here lies a prince whose intentions were pure, but who had the misfortune to see all his plans collapse.
What a misfortune it isto be bornawoman! Why seek for knowledge, which can prove only that our wretchedness is irremediable? If a ray of light break in upon us, it is but to make darkness more visible; to show usthenew limits, the Gothic structure, theimpenetrable barriers of our prison.
To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.
