vicissitude
vih-SIS-ih-tood · noun
A change in circumstances or fortune, especially an unwelcome one.
Memory connection
Picture “vicious tide”
A vicious tide washes away a comfortable camp and replaces calm weather with sudden struggle, changing everyone’s fortune.
The sound cue helps you reach the scene; the action in the scene carries you from the scene to the definition.
Use it accurately
Meaning in context
The business survived the vicissitudes of war, recession, and technological change.
Their friendship endured every vicissitude of a long and uncertain journey.
Vicissitude can be singular, but the plural vicissitudes is especially common for the unpredictable difficulties and changes experienced over time.
Common patterns
- the vicissitudes of life
- economic vicissitudes
- survive every vicissitude
Quick check
Can you retrieve the meaning?
What are the vicissitudes of a long career?
Choose an answer, then explain it in your own words.