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I don't think I could ever describe myself as unlucky because people would look at me, playing football for a living, and say: 'Are you winding me up?'
Jermain Defoe

Meaning of "unlucky" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF UNLUCKY

unlucky  [ʌnˈlʌkɪ] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF UNLUCKY

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Unlucky is an adjective.
The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

WHAT DOES UNLUCKY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

unlucky

Luck

The definition of Luck varies by philosophical, religious, mystical, or emotional context of the one interpreting it; according to the classic Noah Webster's dictionary, Luck is "a purposeless, unpredictable and uncontrollable force that shapes events favorably or unfavorably for an individual, group or cause". Yet the author Max Gunther defines it as "events that influence one's life and are seemingly beyond one's control". When thought of as a factor beyond one's control, without regard to one's will, intention, or desired result, there are at least two senses that people usually mean when they use the term, the prescriptive sense and the descriptive sense. In the prescriptive sense, luck is a supernatural and deterministic concept that there are forces which prescribe that certain events occur very much the way laws of physics will prescribe that certain events occur. It is the prescriptive sense that people mean when they say they "do not believe in luck". In the descriptive sense, people speak of luck after events which they find to be fortunate or unfortunate, and maybe improbable.

Definition of unlucky in the English dictionary

The first definition of unlucky in the dictionary is characterized by misfortune or failure. Other definition of unlucky is ill-omened; inauspicious. Unlucky is also regrettable; disappointing.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH UNLUCKY


buckie
ˈbʌkɪ
chuckie
ˈtʃʌkɪ
clucky
ˈklʌkɪ
duckie
ˈdʌkɪ
ducky
ˈdʌkɪ
gucky
ˈɡʌkɪ
Kentucky
kɛnˈtʌkɪ
lucky
ˈlʌkɪ
mucky
ˈmʌkɪ
plucky
ˈplʌkɪ
sucky
ˈsʌkɪ
truckie
ˈtrʌkɪ
Tukkie
ˈtʌkɪ
yucky
ˈjʌkɪ
yukky
ˈjʌkɪ

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE UNLUCKY

unlopped
unlord
unlordly
unlosable
unlost
unlovable
unlove
unloveable
unloved
unloveliness
unlovely
unloverlike
unloving
unlovingly
unlovingness
unluckily
unluckiness
unluxuriant
unluxurious
unlyrical

WORDS THAT END LIKE UNLUCKY

blocky
cocky
colicky
cracky
dicky
happy-go-lucky
icky
Jacky
micky
picky
pocky
rocky
sticky
stocky
strike it lucky
tacky
tricky
Vicky
wacky
Zwicky

Synonyms and antonyms of unlucky in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «UNLUCKY»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «unlucky» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of unlucky

Translation of «unlucky» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF UNLUCKY

Find out the translation of unlucky to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of unlucky from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «unlucky» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

不幸的
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

desafortunado
570 millions of speakers

English

unlucky
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

अशुभ
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

غَيْرُ مَحْظُوظ
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

неудачный
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

azarado
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

হতভাগ্য
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

malchanceux
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Malang
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Pech haben
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

運の悪い
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

불운한
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Unlucky
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

không may mắn
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

துரதிஷ்டமாக
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

दुर्दैवी
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

şanssız
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

sfortunato
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

pechowy
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

нещасливий
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

ghinionist
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

άτυχος
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

ongelukkig
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

oturlig
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

uheldig
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of unlucky

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «UNLUCKY»

The term «unlucky» is quite widely used and occupies the 25.429 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
89
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «unlucky» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of unlucky
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «unlucky».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «UNLUCKY» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «unlucky» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «unlucky» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about unlucky

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «UNLUCKY»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word unlucky.
1
Carl Barks
I always felt myself to be an unlucky person like Donald, who is a victim of so many circumstances. But there isn't a person in the United States who couldn't identify with him. He is everything, he is everybody; he makes the same mistakes that we all make.
2
Maeve Binchy
I was lucky enough to be fairly quick at understanding what was taught, but unlucky enough not to be really interested in it, so I always got my exams but never had the scholar's love of learning for its own sake.
3
Andrew Bogut
I've had two unlucky injuries that are the equivalent of walking under 1,000 ladders and seeing 1,000 black cats.
4
Samuel Butler
People are lucky and unlucky not according to what they get absolutely, but according to the ratio between what they get and what they have been led to expect.
5
Jonathan Coe
I'm one of those unlucky people who had a happy childhood.
6
Duffy Daugherty
My only feeling about superstition is that it's unlucky to be behind at the end of the game.
7
Jermain Defoe
I don't think I could ever describe myself as unlucky because people would look at me, playing football for a living, and say: 'Are you winding me up?'
8
Poppy Delevingne
It would be ridiculous for me to say I am unlucky, but, like any other family and any other girl, I've had my ups and downs.
9
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Two premature babies was not a genetic thing; we were just unlucky.
10
Chris Evans
I've been lucky enough - well, maybe unlucky enough - to have had a lot of friends who have had their ups and downs. And for an actor, that's good. Life experience in any regard is good. So I've seen a lot and I've had my own experiences.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «UNLUCKY»

Discover the use of unlucky in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to unlucky and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Unlucky 13: (Women’s Murder Club 13)
The thirteenth novel in the bestselling Women's Murder Club series.
James Patterson, 2014
2
Unlucky 13
In this pulse-racing, emotionally charged novel by James Patterson, the Women's Murder Club must find a killer--before she finds them first.
James Patterson, Maxine Paetro, 2014
3
Unlucky
Mallory Devereaux, a walking disaster, finds a way to take advantage of her chronic bad luck by "cooling" cards on her uncle's casino boat, where she gets tangled up with a dark-eyed undercover agent who enlists her help in catching a money ...
Jana DeLeon, 2010
4
Stupid, Ugly, Unlucky and RICH
" The story is in Richards new book, Stupid, Ugly, Unlucky and RICH Spikes Guide to Success, an easy-to-read analysis that gets beyond the clichés to distill what the worlds most successful people really do have in common.
Richard St. John, 2006
5
Unlucky to the End: The Story of Janise Marie Gamble
On 12 March 1976 Calgary police officer Allan Keith Harrison was shot and killed following a robbery at the Inglewood Credit Union.
Richard W. Pound, 2007
6
The Unlucky Country: The Republic of the Philippines in the ...
The Philippines can find the road to prosperity. This book explains what needs to happen for that to take place. For anyone with any interest in the Philippines, or any connection with the country, this book cannot be overlooked.
Duncan Alexander McKenzie, 2012
7
Unlucky Charms
For fans of Artemis Fowl and Percy Jackson & the Olympians comes the second book in Adam Rex's acclaimed Cold Cereal Saga, about three kids who must save the world from the diabolical schemes of an evil breakfast company.
Adam Rex, 2013
8
6 Unlucky 20th Century American Plays
JINN, is a serious play about a daughter who assumes her mother's passion.
Albert D'Annibale, 2004
9
Unlucky In Law
Taking the case of a young man accused of murder and grave robbing, Nina Reilly investigates his claims that he was hired to dig up the grave and had nothing to do with the murder, which may be tied to the murders of the Russian royal ...
Perri O'Shaughnessy, 2005
10
An Unlucky Birth
'An Unlucky Birth' is the story of the courage of a child to overcome neglect and cruelty from her family, and especially from her mother, because of an astrologer's prediction.
Damayanthi Holbourne, 2008

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «UNLUCKY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term unlucky is used in the context of the following news items.
1
The Oakland A's have been incredibly unlucky this season
The Blue Jays have also been more unlucky than most with an expected record of 36-25, which would be good enough for first place in the AL East by 2.0 ... «Business Insider, Jun 15»
2
Unlucky break for Adrian Heskin as he fractures ankle
Heskin's agent Garry Cribbin said: "He was just very unlucky. He landed on his ankle and it swelled up. "He had X-rays taken straight away and they showed a ... «SkySports, May 15»
3
Kenny Jackett: Wolves will be unlucky to miss play-offs - but I'm …
Wolves head coach Kenny Jackett conceded his team were ultimately left feeling flat after their battling win because other results had gone against them. «Birmingham Mail, Apr 15»
4
Unlucky break for Joshua Moore
Joshua Moore faces time out on the sidelines after he suffered a broken collarbone at Aintree on Friday. Moore, whose older brother, Jamie, is also out of action ... «SkySports, Apr 15»
5
Is 2015 unlucky? There will be three Friday the 13ths this year
Thursday, March 12, 2015, 3:15 PM - Beware: There will be three Friday the 13ths this year, which begs the question(s): How common is it to have a trio of Friday ... «The Weather Network, Mar 15»
6
Friday the 13th: Unlucky for some?
The 13th day of the month falling on a Friday has been associated with bad luck for hundreds of years. There are many theories detailing the rise of this ... «The News Hub, Mar 15»
7
St Kilda hamstrings unlucky, not overworked
But coach Alan Richardson asserted the Saints were just "incredibly unlucky" when quizzed on the topic on ABC radio on Sunday. Advertisement. St Kilda ... «The Age, Mar 15»
8
Friday the 13th: why is it 'unlucky'?
Today is Friday the 13th. Again. Cultures all over the world consider this an unlucky date, despite the fact that there's no logical or scientific reason to support this ... «The Guardian, Feb 15»
9
Friday The 13th 2015: When Is The Unlucky Day? It Appears 3 …
The year 2015 is great for people who love Friday the 13th and horrible for people with friggatriskaidekaphobia, a fear of the storied day. The date appears three ... «International Business Times, Feb 15»
10
Unlucky drug dealer throws cannabis out of window into hands of …
A drug dealer in France can count himself unlucky after he threw his cannabis stash out of his flat, only for it to fall straight into the hands of police stationed ... «Al-Arabiya, Feb 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Unlucky [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/unlucky>. Apr 2024 ».
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