woeful
3
6.0
- adjective
- /ˈwoʊfəl/
:
lamentable
- May Heaven help our children and grandchildren, for they are inheriting a woeful future crafted by the "leaders."
- a woeful look
- woeful eyes
Examples
-
In other words, even way back then the situation was woeful.
Academic text (1993) -
Through me is the way, into the woeful city.
-
A rare moment of joy in their otherwise woeful lives.
-
The real America will slog along in this woeful Depression until such time as all economic structures begin to collapse.
Blog text (16) -
"She flops down on the bed, kicking off her flip-flops, giving me a woeful look.
Fiction book (2002) -
The stare affected the colonel profoundly, causing him to perceive his own woeful condition.
Fiction book (2002) -
He looked so woeful that I took him up to McDervik's top-floor office.
Fiction book (2002) -
The Bannerette has had a woeful summer, full of disappointing results and illness-related withdrawals.
Blog text (5) -
Gup was a woeful sight, pale and pinched, with dark circles under her eyes, underfed and overworked.
Fiction book (2002) -
Her woeful expression made it clear that she was going through a difficult time.
Synonyms
443
1.8
Feeling very unhappy or suffering a lot
62
4.5
Making you feel sad and hopeless
23
4.1
Looking or feeling sad and quiet
18
3.9
Feeling deep sadness because of a loss
16
5.7
Extremely unhappy and suffering a lot
14
3.6
Feeling very sad because of loss or disappointment
1
9.9
Feeling or showing deep sadness because of a loss
1
9.6
Looking very sad and worn out
Feeling very sad because of a loss
Feeling very sad and down
Showing deep sadness with loud, long cries
Antonyms
How Sad
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Woeful comes from the old word woe, which means 'sorrow', and the ending -ful, meaning 'full of'. So to be woeful is to be 'full of sorrow', like when someone says 'woe is me' and feels very sad.