Words / C2

vi-SIS-it-yood/vɪˈsɪsɪtjuːd/

A vicissitude is a change of luck or circumstance, usually one of the hard swings of life. It is almost always plural in serious prose: the vicissitudes of war, of a career. Keep it in essays and novels; in daily chat say ups and downs. Using it over coffee will sound theatrical.

Meaning

A change of luck or circumstances, often difficult.

Examples

• “They stayed friends through the vicissitudes of life.”
• “The firm survived the vicissitudes of the 1970s.”
• “Memoirs dwell on the vicissitudes of exile.”

Good to know

Usually plural: vicissitudes of… Everyday: ups and downs.

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