woeful

adjective

woe·​ful ˈwō-fəl How to pronounce woeful (audio)
variants or less commonly woful
Synonyms of woefulnext
1
: full of woe : grievous
woeful prophecies
2
: involving or bringing woe
3
: lamentably bad or serious : deplorable
woeful ignorance
woefully
ˈwō-f(ə-)lē How to pronounce woeful (audio)
adverb
woefulness
ˈwō-fəl-nəs How to pronounce woeful (audio)
noun

Synonyms

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of woeful in a Sentence

The puppy had woeful eyes. The student's grades were woeful.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
During a woeful three-inning outing, the 26-year-old gave up six runs to the middling Colorado Rockies. — Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025 But there’s nothing like a series against the woeful Rockies to put things right and the Dodgers beat them for the second consecutive night Tuesday, 6-2. — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 15 Apr. 2025 In our woeful orthography, choir, and liar rhyme, daughter and laughter don’t, and knickknack has four—count them, four—entirely useless K’s. — Gabe Henry, Time, 15 Apr. 2025 Absolutely woeful list from a guy who clearly only watches Barca and Madrid. — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for woeful

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of woeful was in the 14th century

Rhymes for woeful

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Browse Nearby Words

woebegone
woeful
woehlerite
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Woeful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woeful. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.

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Kids Definition

woeful

adjective
woe·​ful ˈwō-fəl How to pronounce woeful (audio)
1
: full of woe
a woeful tale
2
: involving or bringing woe
a woeful occurrence
3
: pitifully bad
woeful ignorance
woefully
-f(ə-)lē How to pronounce woeful (audio)
adverb
woefulness
-fəl-nəs How to pronounce woeful (audio)
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on woeful

Nglish: Translation of woeful for Spanish Speakers

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