Standard Lemma guide

star-crossed

adj · 1 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈstɑːˌkɹɒst/
  • General-American: /ˈstɑɹˌkɹɔst/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • cot-caught-merger: /ˈstɑɹˌkɹɑst/

1

adj

Meaning 1

Ill-fated by destiny, the fate of the person being “written in the stars”.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • The star-crossed lovers looked into each other's eyes, before dying.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ill-starred, augurous, baleful, bodeful, boding, dire, disastrous, divine, fatal, foreboding, ill-boding, ill-fated, ill-omened, inauspicate, inauspicious, nefastous, omenic, ominous, brooding, portentous, presageful, presagious, prodigious, sinister, star-crossed, sullen

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From star + crossed. Coined by William Shakespeare in 1597 in Romeo and Juliet, see quotations.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: злочест (zločest) — ill-fated by destiny
  • Chinese: 參商 /参商 (shēnshāng) — ill-fated by destiny
  • Galician: astroso — ill-fated by destiny
  • German: unsternbedroht — ill-fated by destiny
  • German: unterm Unglücksstern geboren — ill-fated by destiny
  • Japanese: 薄幸 (hakkō) — ill-fated by destiny
  • Japanese: 薄運 (hakuun) — ill-fated by destiny
  • Latin: astrōsus — ill-fated by destiny
  • Russian: злополу́чный (zlopolúčnyj) — ill-fated by destiny
  • Russian: злосча́стный (zlosčástnyj) — ill-fated by destiny
  • Spanish: desventurado — ill-fated by destiny
  • Spanish: malhadado — ill-fated by destiny
  • Spanish: malfadado (desus.) — ill-fated by destiny