What's a good antonym for the word serendipity? [closed]
I 'm looking for an antonym that has all the subtleties that serendipity carries in it.
Solution 1:
I think “vicissitude” comes close. The definition of vicissitude according to Oxford Dictionaries is: “(usually vicissitudes) A change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant”
Example sentences: 1. Governments cannot protect citizens from all the circumstances and vicissitudes of life.
- Perhaps nothing can demonstrate the city's vicissitudes better than the changes of its landmarks.
- Losing your job is just one of the vicissitudes of life
Solution 2:
If you think of serendipity in a broader sense of: "all the variables in the universe coming together perfectly, like pieces in a jig saw puzzle," then "chaos" is a good antonym.
If you want to refer to a single instance, then "ill-fated" may fit.
Solution 3:
While not a term for the condition, there is a term for the condition sufferer - schlimazel (also spelled schlemazel)
A consistently unlucky or accident-prone person. Oxford Dictionaries Online
The term is a Yiddishism adopted into English. Etymonline offers the following derivation
"born loser," 1948, from Yiddish shlim mazel "rotten luck," from Middle High German slim "crooked" + Hebrew mazzal "luck." British slang shemozzle "an unhappy plight" (1889) is probably from the same source. A shlemiel is the fellow who climbs to the top of a ladder with a bucket of paint and then drops it. A shimazl is the fellow on whose head the bucket falls. [Rep. Stephen J. Solarz (D.-N.Y.), 1986]
As noted, there is a related British term, shemozzle
A state of chaos and confusion; a muddle. Oxford Dictionaries Online