# Is there a precise antonym for 'serendipity' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463 "2006-07-14T13:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/1 "2006-07-14T13:20:11Z")
Taking _Serendipity_ to mean an unexpected, fortuitous outcome arising as a result of the confluence of a number of unlikely chance factors. Is there a specific, precise\* antonym? That is a word describing that occasion when unlikely chance factors seem to conspire to produce unexpected, **undesirable** outcomes? \*I’m not looking for general terms like ‘bad luck’, or wordy descriptors like ‘A Series of Unfortunate Incidents’, or lame contributions like ‘hah, my life’. ---
**Author:** ![bluezooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@bluezooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluezooky)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/2 "2006-07-14T13:42:41Z")
“zemblanity” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/3 "2006-07-14T13:48:05Z")
irony? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/4 "2006-07-14T13:53:27Z")
Good question - it seems like there _should_ be. Going to a thesaurus for synonyms to coincidence (that is, fortuity without the positive connotation) just has bland kind-of antonyms that are unsatisfactory: accident misfortune calamity mishap None of them capture the coming together of unlikely, seemingly fated, events. Maybe you need to coin a word - “Jobity” or MacBethness" or something. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/5 "2006-07-14T14:04:34Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Is there a specific, precise\* antonym? That is a word describing that occasion when unlikely chance factors seem to conspire to produce unexpected, **undesirable** outcomes’. Murphy’s law. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/6 "2006-07-14T14:09:28Z")
or **misadventure** ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/7 "2006-07-14T14:10:46Z")
Adding a piece to this puzzle, Serendip is a former name of Sri Lanka and precedes Ceylon as a name for that island. Serendipity is a word coined by Horace Walpole who formed it on the title of the fairy tale _The Three Princes of Serendip_ to signify the faculty of making happy discoveries by accident, which these princes possessed. Personally I think if you are going to coin a word you should give some thought to a suitable antonym. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/8 "2006-07-14T14:54:56Z")
I had to go back to a thread I posted to, and check if I had posted using serendipity. I had added a line about serendipity and the source of the word, but then cut out the line. I find that uncanny. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/9 "2006-07-14T15:17:03Z")
> [@Chez Guevara](#): > > Serendip is a former name of Sri Lanka and precedes Ceylon as a name for that island. Is there a catchy phrase to made from “600 miles SW of Santiago, Chile?” ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/10 "2006-07-14T19:13:58Z")
Would exact antonym mean that it was the opposite of accidental, too? When I saw the OP, I immediately came up with “Malice Aforethought” ---
**Author:** ![Sequent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Sequent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sequent)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/11 "2006-07-14T19:49:15Z")
How about “determinism”? ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/12 "2006-07-14T23:55:45Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > Is there a catchy phrase to made from “600 miles SW of Santiago, Chile?” To drive your hijack even further, see [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:WorldMapWithAntipodes.png) for all the antipodes. There’s amazingly little overlap, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/13 "2006-07-14T23:58:55Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Would exact antonym mean that it was the opposite of accidental, too? Perhaps, but I’m looking for something that is opposite in effect, not cause. I suppose I should have said _concise and explicit_, rather than _precise_. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/14 "2006-07-15T00:44:57Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Perhaps, but I’m looking for something that is opposite in effect, not cause. I suppose I should have said _concise and explicit_, rather than _precise_. I initially thought “maleficence,” but that implies intention. It’s not “backfire,” as in “My evil plan backfired.” Nor is it “No good dead goes unpunished.” It’s not the concept of “putting out the fire with gasoline,” because that implies a well-intentioned-but-stupid mistake. Maybe the idea of something blowing up in one’s face… Well, I’ve helped a whole helluva lot, haven’t I? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/15 "2006-07-15T06:02:58Z")
Perhaps we could distill something out of the Shakespearean “hoist on one’s own petard”? ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/16 "2006-07-15T11:52:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Perhaps we could distill something out of the Shakespearean “hoist on one’s own petard”? Petardily? ---
**Author:** ![PBear42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PBear42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear42)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/17 "2006-07-15T15:51:11Z")
Another vote for Murphy’s Law. ---
**Author:** ![harveycoles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@harveycoles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harveycoles)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/18 "2011-07-12T18:18:59Z")
I believe the word you may be looking for is **vicissitudes**. vicissitudes: a change of circumstance or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant. Regards Harvey ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/19 "2011-07-12T18:36:40Z")
> [@Fish\_Cheer](#): > > To drive your hijack even further, see [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:WorldMapWithAntipodes.png) for all the antipodes. There’s amazingly little overlap, though. Even better, using Google Maps is [http://www.antipodemap.com](http://www.antipodemap.com). Looks like “Galapagosity” might be a candidate, but it’s still about 1000 km off. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-precise-antonym-for-serendipity/364463/20 "2011-07-12T19:14:38Z")
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