Dictionary
unfortunately
adverb un·for·tu·nate·ly \ˌən-ˈfȯrch-nət-lē, -ˈfȯr-chə-\
Definition of UNFORTUNATELY
1
: in a regrettable, unlucky, or unsuitable manner : in an unfortunate manner <the marriage turned out unfortunately>
2
: it is unfortunate <unfortunately for him your letter has let the cat out of the bag — G. B. Shaw>
See unfortunately defined for English-language learners
ADVERTISEMENT
Examples of UNFORTUNATELY
- Our awards program evaluates wine lists, not restaurants as a whole. While we assume the level of food and service will be commensurate with the quality of the wine lists submitted by award winners, this unfortunately is not always true. —Wine Spectator, 31 Aug. 2008
- Coral reefs provide essential goods and services to maritime tropical nations and are the most diverse marine ecosystems on the planet. Unfortunately, reefs are seriously declining because of global warming. —Andrea G. Grottoli et al., Nature, 27 Apr. 2006
- There are many books announcing a global economic transformation and suggesting that governments can be reengineered to adapt to it in much the same way as corporations. … Unfortunately the problems of globalization are more intractable than those of corporate life. States cannot be phased out like bankrupt firms, and large shifts in wealth and power tend to be fiercely contested. —John Gray, New York Review of Books, 11 Aug. 2005
- Doctors have long believed that children experience pain differently than adults. Unfortunately, most doctors thought kids felt pain less than grownups do, and didn't retain memory of it. As late as the 1970s, infants underwent major surgery without anesthetics. … This barbaric notion was finally put to rest in the 1980s … —Michael D. Lemonick, Time, 28 Feb. 2005
- In the aftermath of the Revolution, Americans desperately needed some non-British heroes. Columbus filled the bill even though no one knew much about him until novelist Washington Irving visited Spain, found a rich lode of source materials and produced a widely read biography. Unfortunately, Irving mixed fiction with fact, and one of his most graphic scenes, set in Salamanca, was wildly imaginative. —Owen Gingerich, Scientific American, November 1992
- [+]more
First Known Use of UNFORTUNATELY
circa 1548
Learn More About UNFORTUNATELY
Browse
Next Word in the Dictionary: unfortunatenessPrevious Word in the Dictionary: unfortunate All Words Near: unfortunately
ADVERTISEMENT
Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up unfortunately? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).