Dictionary

star-crossed en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈstɑɹˌkɹɔst/ (General-American)
• /ˈstɑɹˌkɹɑst/ (cot-caught-merger)
• /ˈstɑːˌkɹɒst/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From star + crossed. Coined by William Shakespeare in 1597 in Romeo and Juliet, see quotations.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) Ill-fated by destiny, the fate of the person being “written in the stars”.
   • From forth the fatall loynes of theſe two foes, / A paire of ſtarre-crost Louers tooke their life: c. 1591–1595 (date written), [William Shakespeare], “The Prologue”, in […] Romeo and Juliet. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, published 1597, →OCLC:
   • But now, such is my star-cross'd destiny, / When he beholds you as you are, I may / As well entreat him give away his crown, / As to part from a jewel of more value. 1636, Philip Massinger, The Great Duke of Florence, act V, scene iii:
   • After a star-crossed regular season, Morgan vowed Thursday to show the college hoops world what it has been missing. 2009 March 20, Adam Rittenberg, “Spartans overpower Robert Morris”, in ESPN:
   • For a few moments he sat dazed, visualizing that dreadful waste near New Orleans where in the sand it was so easy for the star-crossed Chevalier to bury the idol of his heart. 1919 [1914], Compton Mackenzie, Sinister Street, volume 2:
   • The star-crossed lovers looked into each other's eyes, before dying.

Forms

Relateds

stars are aligned

Synonyms

presageful · star-crossed · sullen · nefastous · portentous · bodeful · ill-starred · sinister · ill-starred · omenic · fatal · presagious · boding · ill-fated · ominous · augurous · ill-omened · dire · inauspicious · inauspicate · ill-boding · disastrous · baleful · divine · brooding · foreboding · prodigious

Translations (13)

ru злополу́чный (ill-fated by destiny) · es malfadado (desus.) (ill-fated by destiny) · zh 參商 /参商 (ill-fated by destiny) · de unterm Unglücksstern geboren (ill-fated by destiny) · ja 薄幸 (ill-fated by destiny) · gl astroso (ill-fated by destiny) · es malhadado (ill-fated by destiny) · la astrōsus (ill-fated by destiny) · bg злочест (ill-fated by destiny) · ja 薄運 (ill-fated by destiny) · de unsternbedroht (ill-fated by destiny) · es desventurado (ill-fated by destiny) · ru злосча́стный (ill-fated by destiny)