Standard Lemma guide

ill-fated

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

unlucky; doomed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • My grandfather was originally scheduled to travel on the ill-fated last voyage of the RMS Lusitania, but thankfully had to change his plans at the last minute.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: accursed, fey, foreboding, inauspicious, condemned, cursed, sunk, cussed, damned, dead meat, doomed, done, finished, ill-fated, lost, sentenced, undone, augurous, baleful, bodeful, boding, dire, disastrous, divine, fatal, ill-boding, ill-omened, ill-starred, inauspicate, nefastous, omenic, ominous, brooding, portentous, presageful, presagious, prodigious, sinister, star-crossed, sullen

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

marked by or promising bad fortune- W.H.Prescott

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • their business venture was doomed from the start
  • an ill-fated business venture
  • an ill-starred romance
  • the unlucky prisoner was again put in irons

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: doomed, ill-omened, ill-starred, unlucky

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From ill + fated.

Across languages

Translations

27 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: злочест (zločest) — unlucky; doomed
  • French: fatidique — unlucky; doomed
  • French: malheureux — unlucky; doomed
  • Galician: malfadado — unlucky; doomed
  • Galician: desafortunado — unlucky; doomed
  • German: unglücklich — unlucky; doomed
  • German: vom Pech verfolgt — unlucky; doomed
  • German: verhängnisvoll — unlucky; doomed
  • German: zum Scheitern verurteilt — unlucky; doomed
  • Ancient Greek: δύσμορος (dúsmoros) — unlucky; doomed
  • Ancient Greek: δύσποτμος (dúspotmos) — unlucky; doomed
  • Ancient Greek: κακόμοιρος (kakómoiros) — unlucky; doomed
  • Italian: malaugurato — unlucky; doomed
  • Italian: sfortunato — unlucky; doomed
  • Italian: predestinato — unlucky; doomed
  • Macedonian: ко́бен (kóben) — unlucky; doomed
  • Māori: wairuatoa — unlucky; doomed
  • Māori: maikiroa — unlucky; doomed
  • Plautdietsch: onjlekjlich — unlucky; doomed
  • Polish: nieszczęsny — unlucky; doomed
  • Polish: niefortunny — unlucky; doomed
  • Polish: feralny — unlucky; doomed
  • Russian: злополу́чный (zlopolúčnyj) — unlucky; doomed
  • Russian: несчастли́вый (nesčastlívyj) — unlucky; doomed
  • Russian: несча́стный (nesčástnyj) — unlucky; doomed
  • Spanish: malhadado — unlucky; doomed
  • Spanish: empecatado — unlucky; doomed
Real reading context

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