How to Use unlucky in a Sentence

unlucky

adjective
  • He thinks it's unlucky to have a black cat cross your path.
  • She was unlucky enough to get a flat tire on the way to her job interview.
  • Some people think that 13 is an unlucky number.
  • Some are just unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
    — John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 4 June 2018
  • The unlucky ones get tossed on doorsteps, rained on and thrown away.
    — Rachel Abrams, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2021
  • And one of the unlucky millions who was made to feel bad about it.
    — Dave Schilling, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2024
  • At what point is charmed swallowed whole by unlucky?
    — Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2025
  • The club has not merely been unlucky.
    — Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2026
  • The bar is unlucky in its timing, but not in its choice of chef.
    — New York Times, 30 Mar. 2021
  • Sue’s just the only one unlucky enough to have had to die for it.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 9 June 2026
  • The unlucky half is not random.
    — Matt Rosenbaum, Fortune, 29 May 2026
  • Melton won’t be there, an unlucky loser.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Plus, Democrats have had an unlucky track record in runoff races in the state.
    — Stuart Emmrich, Vogue, 1 Dec. 2020
  • But not all is wedded bliss for the often unlucky-in-love cast.
    — NBC News, 8 Aug. 2021
  • There are the winners but mostly the losers, the lucky and the unlucky.
    — Vogue, 27 Oct. 2022
  • In this case, a little owl was the unlucky target of the roller’s ire.
    — Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2025
  • To these unlucky souls, add the people locked up in our prisons and jails.
    — Globe Columnist, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2023
  • There's also an unlucky but adorable tote bag idea to fill with treats and send home with your guests.
    — Taylor Murphy, House Beautiful, 8 June 2023
  • The unlucky fourth one was a heck of a trophy with 56-inch main beams.
    — Jack Atcheson Sr. As Told To Michael Hanback, Outdoor Life, 11 Sep. 2025
  • But what makes the number itself so unlucky?
    — Lianna Norman, Florida Times-Union, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Some of Walz’s people are unlucky.
    — Joe Soucheray, Twin Cities, 20 Sep. 2025
  • Talk about some unlucky stuff, Dull had one off the end of the bat, a chopper.
    — Ryan Divish, The Seattle Times, 17 May 2017
  • But the victim with the glass brain was unlucky in a specific way.
    — Discover Magazine, 27 Feb. 2025
  • Jenna and Michael were the unlucky ones that got their torches snuffed.
    — Rasputin Todd, Cincinnati.com, 9 May 2018
  • What happened next was both insane, and more than a little unlucky.
    — Mark Harris Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 May 2026
  • Some have been unlucky, but that wasn’t the case Saturday.
    — Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026
  • Some unlucky people just happened to be in the line of fire, or on the other side of a wall.
    — Washington Post, 5 Sep. 2019
  • Paul, who lives in Armatage, was one of the unlucky victims.
    — Jason Rantala, CBS News, 11 May 2026
  • That answer may come via trade after the unlucky draft lottery.
    — Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026
  • The true gems of the genre tend to be lucky—or, just as often, unlucky—accidents.
    — Christopher Orr, The Atlantic, 1 June 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unlucky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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