LUCKLESS Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

luckless

adjective

Definition of luckless

as in unfortunate

having, prone to, or marked by bad luck a luckless team with the worst record in the league

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of luckless During these walking meditations my notebook starts to feel suspiciously similar to the luckless young climber’s selfie camera. — Brian Laidlaw, Longreads, 1 Sep. 2026 This year, the final was between Kerry, historically the sport’s most successful side, and Mayo, one of Ireland’s smaller counties by population and, in football terms, the most luckless. — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 27 July 2026 The one in which his tiny team of negotiators surrendered to the radicals ruling that luckless nation. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2026 Any one of those locations could have allowed the heat of reentry to burn through the aluminum alloy walls of the spacecraft, killing any luckless crew that may have been inside, in much the kind of reentry breakup that doomed the shuttle Columbia and its seven-person crew in 2003. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Apr. 2026 Vasyanovych plays Roman, a luckless director who’s out of work and trying to shoot his latest film in a country whose dwindling population is still traumatized by the war. — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for luckless

Adjective

For many people, however, the presentation instead bears an uncanny and unfortunate resemblance to imagery used in Nazi-era Germany.

— Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
The Giannis Antetokounmpo era is off to an unfortunate start, as the Heat is 0-2 to start a season for the first time since the 2022-23 campaign.

— Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of unfortunate

Adjective

Dudus was apparently unhappy about a recent NBC News article that exposed Combs’ cushy life behind bars.

— Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
Tim Boyd San Juan Capistrano I’m sure there are Dodgers fans unhappy about losing to the Brewers.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of unhappy

Adjective

The surprising loss to the Commanders was followed by a win over the hapless LA Chargers, then two frustrating losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos in overtime.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Fooling hapless web surfers into giving away their credentials by faking secure websites is easy, by comparison.

— Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of hapless

Adjective

Prolonged pump stoppages could lead to a disastrous local scenario of ruptured water supply, district heating, and sewage pipes, even if electricity remains available elsewhere in the country.

— Tatiana Mitrova, Foreign Affairs, 23 Oct. 2026
Yet, the Royals are sitting at home after a disastrous 69-93 campaign.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of disastrous

Adjective

But if Earth did somehow get supremely unlucky, and we were directly hit by a jet even a few thousand light-years away, our situation would be grim.

— Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
But this will take time that some unlucky teens simply don’t have.

— Kent Sepkowitz, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of unlucky

Adjective

And, of course, there won’t be many people who want to defend someone in that position — or, indeed, listen to any hard-luck stories — now the details have been outlined in court about his motorway rampage.

— Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
After Yankees relievers got the Twins to ground into inning-ending double plays in the 9th, 10th and 12th innings, John Schreiber (2-4) took the hard-luck loss.

— CBS News, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026