misfortune
/ˌmɪsˈfɔːtʃuːn/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌmɪsˈfɔːrtʃən/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌmis-ˈfȯr-chən/ (ame, mw)
misfortune — noun
- misfortunesingular
- misfortunesplural
1. an unpleasant event or situation that happens because of bad luck rather than an
an unpleasant event or situation that happens because of bad luck rather than anyone's fault, or the general state of experiencing such bad luck
After losing her job, Élise faced one misfortune after another and nearly gave up.
one misfortune after another — repeated bad luck
The old fisherman blamed his misfortune on the storm that destroyed his boat.
blame misfortune on — attributing the cause
Samir had the misfortune to arrive at the airport just as the last flight departed.
It was Yael's misfortune that the letter arrived three days after the deadline.
Valentina's family met with great misfortune when their savings were stolen.
- bad luck
more common in everyday speech; only refers to the state, not a specific event
- adversity
more formal, suggesting long-term hardship that tests one's character rather than a single event
- hardship
focuses on the difficulty or suffering caused by a situation, not on the role of chance
- calamity
much stronger; describes a major disaster causing widespread suffering
文法句型
have the misfortune to + infinitive
it is/was someone's misfortune that + clause
suffer / experience / meet with misfortune
a series of / one misfortune after another
用法筆記
Uncountable when referring to bad luck in general ('they have known great misfortune'); countable when referring to a specific unlucky event ('she told me about her many misfortunes'). Often follows the fixed phrase 'have the misfortune to + infinitive' for describing unlucky timing.