misery

[miz-uh-ree]

noun

plural

miseries 

1. wretchedness of condition or circumstances.

   Synonyms: trial, tribulation, suffering

2. distress or suffering caused by need, privation, or poverty.

3. great mental or emotional distress; extreme unhappiness.

   Synonyms: desolation, torment, woe, anguish, grief
   Antonyms: happiness

4. a cause or source of distress.

5. Older Use.

   1. a pain.

      a misery in my left side.

   2. rheumatism.

   3. Often miseries. a case or period of despondency or gloom.

misery

/ ˈmɪzərɪ /

noun

1. intense unhappiness, discomfort, or suffering; wretchedness

2. a cause of such unhappiness, discomfort, etc

3. squalid or poverty-stricken conditions

4. informal,  a person who is habitually depressed

   he is such a misery

5. dialect,  a pain or ailment

Word History and Origins

Origin of misery¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English miserie, from Latin miseria, equivalent to miser “wretched” + -ia -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of misery¹

C14: via Anglo-Norman from Latin miseria, from miser wretched

Idioms and Phrases

• put someone out of his or her misery

Synonym Study

See sorrow.

Example Sentences

Liverpool's misery was compounded in farcical fashion in the 73rd minute.

Read more on Barron's

“The failure to do that is inexcusable and it contributes to a lot of misery,” Gleick said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Once projected to go early in the first round, Sanders had to wait until the draft’s third day before the Browns put him out of his misery by selecting him with the No. 144 selection.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Not a single eyebrow would have been raised inside Anfield had he been put out of his misery at half-time.

Read more on BBC

The games, the tedium, the comfort of nostalgia, the sting and fury of old resentments: It’s an experience of mirth and misery alike.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• agony 
• anguish 
• despair 
• discomfort 
• gloom 
• grief 
• hardship 
• headache 
• heartache 
• passion 
• sadness 
• sorrow 
• squalor 
• suffering 
• torment 
• torture 
• woe 
• worry