So, I'm writing a story. I have a part where I describe a family who has had a lot of misfortunes; the mother got killed, the father got sick, etc. I want to follow it up with a statement when another tragedy happens and I want a sentence it like this:
"The already [insert word] here family once again receives a visit from misfortune as..."
I think "unfortunate" just wouldn't cut it.
Beleaguered
Dictionary.com: to surround or beset, as with troubles
Cambridge: having so many difficulties that you feel as if you are being attacked from every direction
Merriam-Webster: to cause constant or repeated trouble for (a person, business, etc.)
The already beleaguered family once again receives a visit from misfortune as...
Torment(ed)
noun |ˈtɔːmɛnt| [ mass noun ] severe physical or mental suffering: their deaths have left both families in torment.
(OED, via the Apple Dictionary App)
I'd suggest wounded or battered in this case. Since your second half of the sentence sets up the image of being visited (and hurt) by misfortune, it would make sense to keep the image in mind in the first half.
You might think the situation is downright Shakespearean:
adj. dogged by ill luck; destined to misfortune
and indeed, this leads to a good number of synonyms to choose from: ill-starred, cursed, luckless, misfortunate, bedeviled, hapless.
And if you like Biblical instead, perhaps forsaken.
