star-crossed

adjective

ˈstär-ˌkrȯst How to pronounce star-crossed (audio)
Definition of star-crossednext
as in unhappy
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck Romeo and Juliet are among literature's most famous star-crossed lovers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 star-crossed The best bet is that SpaceX proves a scientific triumph, and star-crossed as an stock. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026 Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie lead the series as the star-crossed, puck-smashing Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov. — Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026 Yes, Netflix's Regency-era romance drama (Season 4 Part 1 now streaming) has returned for a new year of lustful glances, hopelessly star-crossed lovers and absolutely absurd balls for a fourth go-round, this time with a story all about the second Bridgerton son, Benedict (Luke Thompson). — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026 The Vikings have begun a new year with yet another quarterback quandary, a familiar scenario for this star-crossed franchise. — CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for star-crossed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for star-crossed
  1. unhappy
  2. unfortunate
  3. luckless
  4. disastrous
  5. hapless
  6. hard-luck
  7. doomed
Adjective
  • Many of the women in the packed courtroom gallery appeared unhappy when the sentences were rendered.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Andy’s view Almost 14 years into Xi Jinping’s norm-busting reign, just about everybody is unhappy with his economy.
    — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of unhappy
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
  • 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
Definition of luckless
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
  • 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
  • The song is a tale of a small town drying up as businessmen buy up all the land, and Supernaw — with his distinctive twang — sang it as a hard-luck ballad.
    — Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2026
  • 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
Definition of hard-luck
Adjective
  • This housing raid would put roughly 150,000 homes under the government’s control — about seven percent of Berlin’s housing supply — in what would no doubt be a doomed effort to curb rising rents.
    — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Skerritt originally turned down the role as Captain Dallas of the doomed spacecraft Nostromo in Alien (1979) after fearing that the film’s budget would be consumed by special effects.
    — Chris Koseluk, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of doomed

Browse Nearby Words

starchy
star-crossed
stardom
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Star-crossed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/star-crossed. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of reticent

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All