as in unhappy
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
Romeo and Juliet are among literature's most famous star-crossed lovers
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Recent Examples of star-crossed
Earlier this year, Quinn pounced on the opportunity to cast Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams as star-crossed fae princes from feuding kingdoms who (spoiler) have been knocking boots in secret.
—
Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 1 June 2026
The legacy of nuclear propulsion is deep and star-crossed.
—David W. Brown, Scientific American, 31 Mar. 2026
The star-crossed extra twist, of course, was that only days after the national-title game the rules changed to allow the dunk again.
—Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
The best bet is that SpaceX proves a scientific triumph, and star-crossed as an stock.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie lead the series as the star-crossed, puck-smashing Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
Yes, Netflix's Regency-era romance drama (Season 4 Part 1 now streaming) has returned for a new year of lustful glances, hopelessly star-crossed lovers and absolutely absurd balls for a fourth go-round, this time with a story all about the second Bridgerton son, Benedict (Luke Thompson).
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
The Vikings have begun a new year with yet another quarterback quandary, a familiar scenario for this star-crossed franchise.
—CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
The sweeping romance set across three decades of passion, loss, and hope in Beirut stars Hassan Akil and Mounia Akl as Nino and Yasmina, star-crossed lovers bound by a magnetic relationship, one an eternal optimist and the other an impulsive pragmatist.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 1 June 2026
The legacy of nuclear propulsion is deep and star-crossed.
—David W. Brown, Scientific American, 31 Mar. 2026
The star-crossed extra twist, of course, was that only days after the national-title game the rules changed to allow the dunk again.
—Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
The best bet is that SpaceX proves a scientific triumph, and star-crossed as an stock.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie lead the series as the star-crossed, puck-smashing Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
Yes, Netflix's Regency-era romance drama (Season 4 Part 1 now streaming) has returned for a new year of lustful glances, hopelessly star-crossed lovers and absolutely absurd balls for a fourth go-round, this time with a story all about the second Bridgerton son, Benedict (Luke Thompson).
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
The Vikings have begun a new year with yet another quarterback quandary, a familiar scenario for this star-crossed franchise.
—CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
The sweeping romance set across three decades of passion, loss, and hope in Beirut stars Hassan Akil and Mounia Akl as Nino and Yasmina, star-crossed lovers bound by a magnetic relationship, one an eternal optimist and the other an impulsive pragmatist.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for star-crossed
Adjective
-
What’s leaving one unhappy child at home compared to sending five hundred people home from the theatre happy?—
Deborah Treisman,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
-
Shohei Ohtani almost became the most unhappy pitcher to ever be part of throwing a no-hitter.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
There’s no question that this unfortunate cocktail of corruption, inefficiency, and simple incompetence is holding the country back.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
-
Unfortunately, going cold turkey off a central nervous system depressant like GHB has some pretty unfortunate side-effects.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
Adjective
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Any one of those locations could have allowed the heat of reentry to burn through the aluminum alloy walls of the spacecraft, killing any luckless crew that may have been inside, in much the kind of reentry breakup that doomed the shuttle Columbia and its seven-person crew in 2003.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
11 Apr. 2026
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Vasyanovych plays Roman, a luckless director who’s out of work and trying to shoot his latest film in a country whose dwindling population is still traumatized by the war.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The study, published on May 31, highlights an ongoing trend toward wildfires becoming increasingly extreme, costly, and disastrous — both economically and in lives lost.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
31 May 2026
-
Leigh Ann, boy, so striking to hear the former first lady talk about that disastrous debate performance.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
31 May 2026
Adjective
-
Bargatze likes to be the butt of the joke, casting himself as the hapless but well-meaning dad who can barely keep track of his day-to-day needs.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
-
Cherry plays Gary, a hapless, low-key type of guy who goes on a blind date, to avenge infidelity in his jaded long-term relationship, with the much younger, devil-may-care Ell, played by Borat breakout Maria Bakalova.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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Both her audition and her callback had fallen flat, but the company must have figured that casting an amateur from hard-luck Butte as Lucetta would make good press.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
-
The Oilers went back to Connor Ingram in goal after a hard-luck overtime loss for Tristan Jarry in Game 4.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
As the members of the 1986 Rogers Commission interrogate the complex inner workings of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to find what, or who, was responsible for the Challenger’s doomed fate, the show explores Commission member Sally Ride’s (Stewart) personal journey.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
2 June 2026
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Xavier Becerra has emerged as a front-runner in the governor’s race just two months after his campaign seemed doomed.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Star-crossed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/star-crossed. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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