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desafortunado

unfortunate, unlucky

adjective deh-sah-fohr-TOO-nah-doh Rare
Descriptions & Qualities Conditions

Also means

regrettable

Usage Note

Desafortunado can describe both a person who is unlucky (un jugador desafortunado) and a comment or decision that is ill-judged or poorly received (unas palabras desafortunadas). The second sense — roughly 'ill-chosen' — is the more common one in written Spanish and can feel like a diplomatic understatement for something seriously problematic.

Examples

"Fue una declaración muy desafortunada."

Natural Translation

It was a very unfortunate statement.

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