vicissitude
- A change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant; the alternating phases of life.
- In older usage, regular alternation or succession between different states (e.g., the vicissitude of seasons).
In a sentence
- After decades in public life, the senator had weathered enough vicissitudes to remain unshaken by scandal.
- The memoir traces the author's vicissitudes from refugee childhood to international acclaim.
Usage note. Almost always used in the plural ('the vicissitudes of life/war/fortune'); the singular is grammatically fine but rare in modern prose, and its formal register suits literary or elevated writing.
Where it comes from
English vicissitude · entered English mid-16th c.
From Latin 'vicissitudo,' meaning 'change' or 'alternation,' from 'vicis' (change, turn, alteration) — also found in 'vice versa' (literally 'with the turn reversed'). The word entered English in the mid-16th century. While early use emphasized neutral alternation or succession, modern usage has shifted toward the sense of hardship or difficulty brought by changing circumstances.