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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

unfortunate experience

0Hi,02br
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00"The unfortunate experience taught me a valuable lesson."02br
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00Can I say 'unlucky experience' instead of 'unfortunate experience' here? If yes, what is the difference?02br
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00Can I say ''precious lesson" instead of 'valuable lesson' here? If yes, what is the difference? Thanks.0-
  

Top answer

0Unlucky and unfortunate are very similar in meaning. Unfortunate has a Latin root--fortuna (which means fate or luck)01del 00so it might have a slight edge in respectability! Precious and valuable are very similar, too, but precious is a stronger word than valuable.

— Spides

  • 0Unlucky and unfortunate are very similar in meaning.
  • Unfortunate has a Latin root--fortuna (which means fate or luck)01del 00so it might have a slight edge in respectability!
  • Precious and valuable are very similar, too, but precious is a stronger word than valuable.
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4 Answers
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0Unlucky and unfortunate are very similar in meaning. Unfortunate has a Latin root--fortuna (which means fate or luck)01del00so it might have a slight edge in respectability! Precious and valuable are very similar, too, but precious is a stronger word than valuable. Precious, however, would usually be used in describing monetary value02del00-so a precious lesson wou
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0Hi spides,02br
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00Thank you for your reply. But I still don't know if 'unlucky experience' is fine here in my example, could you please tell me about it and could you also explain their difference in clear way?02br
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00Thanks.0-
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0I think when we say “unfortunate experience” and “unlucky experience”02br
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00People can identify what you meant. My take is, we can say 00“seeing a Mack truck taking a sharp turn on the opposite traffic, seemingly coming at you with the full load as it lost control of the trailer is a frightening experience”00. 00But getting hit by one is an extremely unpleas
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0 I would say that "unlucky experience" emphasises the bad luck in the experience, while "unfortunate experience" emphasises its unwelcome effects. 02br
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00To call an experience a "valuable lesson" suggests that you have reflected on the experience in a calm and rational way; "precious lesson" on the other hand sounds more emotional and excitable.02br
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