woe

American  

[woh] / woʊ /

noun

• woes
  plural

1. profound grief or distress.

   His woe at the terrible news was almost beyond description.

   Synonyms:

   melancholy, wretchedness, trial, tribulation, anguish

   Antonyms:

   joy

2. an affliction or cause of distress.

   She suffered a fall, among her other woes.

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interjection

1. an exclamation of grief, distress, or lamentation.

idioms

1. woe betide, trouble or punishment will come upon (someone) if they take the specified action: Also woe to

   Woe betide anybody who laughed or continued to talk while he was playing.

   Rules about court reporting are strict, and woe betide those who fall foul of them.

   Woe to the pedestrian who gets in a cyclist's way.

2. woe is me, (used to lament one's own distress, affliction, or trouble, sometimes humorously).

   Woe is me, for I am ruined!

   Please don't get the wrong impression, thinking this is a “woe is me” story.

woe British  

/ wəʊ /

noun

1. literary intense grief or misery

2. (often plural) affliction or misfortune

3. misfortune will befall someone

   woe betide you if you arrive late

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interjection

1. Also: woe is me.  archaic an exclamation of sorrow or distress

Synonym Usage

See sorrow.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• woes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of woe

First recorded before 900; Middle English wo (interjection and noun), Old English wā (interjection) ( cf. wellaway); cognate with Dutch wee, German Weh, Old Norse vei; akin to Latin vae

Explanation

"O, woe is me!" This line is from Shakespeare. When Hamlet scorns Ophelia, she utters these words to express the grief and despair that will soon drive her to suicide. Another famously dejected figure, Job, echoes this unhappy cry in the Old Testament when he contemplates his sad fate, "If I be wicked, woe unto me." Today, woe generally means "problem" or "worry." You may experience financial woes, if you spend too much on your credit card. And study hard for your classes or in addition to your academic woes, you may get grounded by your parents. Sometimes woe is used in a slightly ironic way. If your friends tell you to forget about your woes and go out with them, they think your problems are not too serious.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

woe woes

And he stresses that it isn’t in the president’s power to fix every economic woe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

A mass protest movement has sprung up in Iran, prompted by the economic woe driven by the currency crisis.

From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026

It is falling apart with a familiar tale of woe in Australia.

From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025

Property taxes are another housing woe for cash-strapped Americans.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2025

I was desolate and afraid, and full of woe and terror; but when that beautiful sun began to climb the horizon life was to me again.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

But the Plaid Cymru-led Welsh government rejected the proposal out of hand as it continues to seek a solution to the health board's woes.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

It’s unclear whether Cosby will wait until his latest legal woes have come to an end before relisting his New York home, which was previously listed with Adam Schneider, of Corcoran Westside Columbus.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

Devastating earthquakes last month in the north of the country killed more than 5,500 people, compounding the country's woes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

She interviewed 20- and 30-somethings about their financial woes, classifying them as the nouveau pauvre, or, as a well-known economist put it, “well-dressed paupers.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Adding to Philadelphia’s woes was a new problem.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

Related Words

• adversity
• anguish
• burden
• calamity
• catastrophe
• disaster
• gloom
• hardship
• headache
• misery
• misfortune
• pain
• tragedy
• trouble