Meaning & use
vicissitude
Last updated
UK/vɪˈsɪsɪtjuːd/
US/vɪˈsɪsətuːd/
Meaning
nounusually pluralformalliterary
A change in circumstances or fortune, especially an unwanted change that a person cannot control.
Grammar: Usually appears as “the vicissitudes of life,” not as a single countable event.
Patterns
- the vicissitudes of something
- survive the vicissitudes of something
The book follows one family through the vicissitudes of war and migration.
She learned to accept the vicissitudes of fortune without despair.
Word forms
| plural | vicissitudes |
|---|
Common combinations
- the vicissitudes of life
- Old age brings the vicissitudes of life into sharp focus.
- survive the vicissitudes
- Small businesses must survive the vicissitudes of the market.
- weather the vicissitudes
- They weathered the vicissitudes of several economic crises.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ups and downs
- Informal and neutral; it is lighter and more conversational than “vicissitudes.”
- changes
- Broad and neutral; it lacks the sense of unwanted or uncontrollable turns.
- setbacks
- Only covers adverse turns, while vicissitudes may include favorable turns too.
Opposites
Word family
- vicissitudinous adjective
- Marked by many changes; rare and literary.
Practice
Which sentence uses “vicissitudes” naturally?
Choose one answer.
“Vicissitudes” means unwanted or uncontrollable changes, often plural in a literary phrase; exile fits that context. Options 0 and 2 use it as a concrete object, and option 3 has broken agreement.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vicissitude”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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