misery

[ miz-uh-ree ]
/ ˈmɪz ə ri /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR misery ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural mis·er·ies.

wretchedness of condition or circumstances.
distress or suffering caused by need, privation, or poverty.
great mental or emotional distress; extreme unhappiness.
a cause or source of distress.
Older Use.
  1. a pain: a misery in my left side.
  2. rheumatism.
  3. Often miseries. a case or period of despondency or gloom.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of misery

1325–75; Middle English miserie < Latin miseria, equivalent to miser wretched + -ia -y3

Words nearby misery

miserabilist, miserable, miserere, misericord, miserly, misery, misery index, misery loves company, misesteem, misestimate, misfeasance
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to misery

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

Example sentences from the Web for misery

British Dictionary definitions for misery

misery
/ (ˈmɪzərɪ) /

noun plural -eries

intense unhappiness, discomfort, or suffering; wretchedness
a cause of such unhappiness, discomfort, etc
squalid or poverty-stricken conditions
British informal a person who is habitually depressedhe is such a misery
dialect a pain or ailment

Word Origin for misery

C14: via Anglo-Norman from Latin miseria, from miser wretched
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with misery

misery
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.