mishappen · verb — to encounter grief or misfortune. It carries an Arena rating of 1549, earned across 114 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, mishappen ranks #2,680 of 17,177 for Most Whimsical Words, #2,798 of 17,151 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,895 of 17,171 for Scariest Words, #4,753 of 17,180 for Most Ingenious Words.
mishappen is pronounced /mɪsˈhap(ə)n/.
Why “mishappen” is a great word
MISHAPPEN — [Verb] To occur in an ill or unfortunate manner; to meet with misfortune. From Middle English mishapnen, equivalent to the prefix mis- ("badly, wrongly") + happen ("to occur"). Unlike "mishap" (the static noun of the resultant accident) or "befall" (a more general, often fated descent), to mishappen is the active verb of circumstance curdling. It is the cup slipping from a tired hand, the foot sliding on a familiar stair, or the single misaligned gear that halts the entire clock—the grammatical instant where chance pivots irrevocably toward ruin.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English mishapnen, equivalent to mis- + happen.
verb
- To encounter grief or misfortune.
- To happen through misfortune.e.g.“His fearefull friends weare out the wofull night, / Ne dare to weepe, nor seeme to vnderstand / The heauie hap, which on them is alight, / Affraid, least to themselues the like mishappen might.” — 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- To happen ill; fare ill.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
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