unlucky

/ʌnˈlʌki/ (bre, ipa) · /ʌnˈlʌki/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌən-ˈlə-kē/ (ame, mw)

unlucky — adjective

  • unluckypositive
  • more unluckycomparative
  • most unluckysuperlative

1. suffering from more bad events or losses than most people, often for reasons you

1.形容詞A2
釋義

suffering from more bad events or losses than most people, often for reasons you cannot control

例句

Adina was unlucky — she lost her wallet, missed the bus, and broke her phone all in one day.

Michael was unlucky enough to catch a bad cold the night before his driving test.

be + unlucky + enough + to-infinitive

同義詞
  • unfortunate

    more formal and often used for serious or regrettable situations; can sound more sympathetic

  • luckless

    formal or literary; suggests a long-term pattern rather than a single event

  • hapless

    literary; implies helplessness in the face of repeated bad fortune

  • jinxed

    informal; suggests a supernatural cause for the bad luck

反義詞

文法句型

be + unlucky

be + unlucky + to-infinitive

be + unlucky + that + clause

用法筆記

Common with to-infinitive ('unlucky to miss the train') or that-clause ('unlucky that it rained'). The subject is usually a person or group of people. When used before a noun (attributive), 'unlucky' modifies the person affected: 'an unlucky traveller', not the event.

常見錯誤

❌This is an unlucky news.
✅This is unlucky news.
💡'news' is uncountable; no 'an' needed.
❌He was unlucky of missing the goal.
✅He was unlucky to miss the goal.
💡use the to-infinitive pattern, not 'of + gerund'.

2. believed to bring misfortune or bad outcomes; seen as not giving good results be

2.形容詞B1
釋義

believed to bring misfortune or bad outcomes; seen as not giving good results because of tradition or superstition

例句

Friday the thirteenth is considered an unlucky day in many Western countries.

considered + unlucky + noun

Some people think the number four is unlucky because it sounds like the word for 'death' in Chinese.

同義詞
  • inauspicious

    formal; focuses on signs or omens that predict bad outcomes

  • ominous

    stronger; suggests a threatening or frightening sign of danger

  • sinister

    strong negative connotation; suggests evil intent or harm

  • ill-fated

    literary; describes something destined to end badly from the start

反義詞
  • lucky

    can apply to objects/events too, e.g. 'lucky number'

  • auspicious

    formal; showing signs of future success

文法句型

unlucky + noun

be + considered/thought + unlucky

用法筆記

Typically used attributively (before the noun: 'unlucky day', 'unlucky number'). When used predicatively, the subject must be an object, event, or number, not a person: 'That number is unlucky' — but ✗ 'He is unlucky' in this sense would be interpreted as sense 1.

常見錯誤

❌She is an unlucky number.
✅That number is unlucky.
💡'unlucky' describing a thing/event does not apply to a person.
❌Walking under a ladder is lucky.
✅Walking under a ladder is unlucky.
💡learners sometimes confuse the direction of the superstition.