unfortunate

Universal Words adjective, noun adjective 1 having bad luck; caused by bad luck SYNUNLUCKY: He was unfortunate to lose in the final round. * It was an unfortunate accident. * The unfortunate animal was locked inside the house for a week. OPPFORTUNATE 2 (formal) if you say that a situation is unfortunate, you wish that it had not happened or that it had happened differently SYNREGRETTABLE: She described the decision as 'unfortunate'. * It was unfortunate that he couldn't speak English. * You're putting me in a most unfortunate position. 3 embarrassing and/or offensive: It was an unfortunate choice of words. noun (literary) a person who does not have much luck, money, etc: one of life's unfortunates