mischance
Americannoun
noun
-
bad luck
-
a stroke of bad luck
Etymology
Origin of mischance
1250–1300; mis- 1 + chance; replacing Middle English mescheance < Old French
Explanation
Mischance describes a moment of bad luck, like when you have the mischance of slipping on the ice or catching a cold or losing your car keys. A mischance is a mishap or misadventure, or it can be plain old bad luck, like being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The word comes from an Old French word, mescheoir, where mes-, means "adversely" and -cheoir means "befall." A series of mischances might add up to a failed business, a lost Super Bowl, or just a really, really bad day.
Vocabulary lists containing mischance
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act III
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The Tempest
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Othello
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In Geoffrey Chaucer's famous Canterbury Tales, written in the 14th Century, he said: "And on a Friday fell all this mischance".
From BBC • Sep. 12, 2024
Like Paul Stover, many have simply decided not to decide for now, hoping that some combination of age, legal drama or mischance might avert a rematch they dread.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2024
Much about a buzzy evening served to remind an observer of the role that chance and mischance play in any Hollywood success.
From New York Times • Feb. 27, 2017
Even if Greatest Cities of the World were, by some hideous mischance, to run to 20 series, Griff would be unlikely to make it to Lagos.
From The Guardian • Apr. 30, 2010
But equally, without exception, so that no one felt shut out by some irrelevant mischance of birth.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
