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# unfortunate

adjective (unfortunate); noun (an unfortunate, unfortunates — formal, old-fashioned); adverb unfortunately

«unfortunate» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Having bad luck; unlucky. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unfortunate/#m1)
2. Causing problems or sad results: an unfortunate accident. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unfortunate/#m2)
3. (formal) Not suitable and a bit embarrassing: an unfortunate remark. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unfortunate/#m3)
4. (noun, old-fashioned) A poor or unlucky person. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unfortunate/#m4)

### In the lessons

In stories it signals bad luck or a sad event; in formal speech «It is unfortunate that …» is a polite way to say something is bad. The adverb «unfortunately» starts sentences with bad news. Phrases: «an unfortunate accident», «it is unfortunate that».

### Examples

- It was unfortunate that it rained on sports day. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unfortunate/#x1)
- The unfortunate boy dropped his ice cream. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unfortunate/#x2)
- An unfortunate mix-up sent our parcel to the wrong town. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unfortunate/#x3)
- Calling the new teacher by the wrong name was an unfortunate slip. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unfortunate/#x4)
- Unfortunately, the shop was shut. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unfortunate/#x5)
- The kind woman helped the unfortunates of the town. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unfortunate/#x6)
- What had become of all these unfortunate children? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unfortunate/#x7)

### Note

Takes «an»: «an unfortunate event». Unfortunately = sadly, used for bad news. Opposite: fortunate, lucky. Polite formal speech uses «unfortunate» to soften bad news.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «unfortunate» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unfortunate/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«unfortunate» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/unfortunate.html) on Mova free.