misery

[miz-uh-ree]

See more 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.

Origin of misery

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

Synonyms for misery

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1. tribulation, trial, suffering. 3. grief, anguish, woe, torment, desolation. See sorrow.

Antonyms for misery

3. happiness.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for misery

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

Examples from the Web for misery

Contemporary Examples of misery

It breaks up families, burns hope, and perpetuates cycles of misery.
Here’s a Reform Even the Koch Brothers and George Soros Can Agree On
Tina Brown
November 10, 2014
She actively, and with glee, imbued their lives with an abundance of misery.
J.K. Rowling Pens the Greatest Horror Story Ever: Dolores Umbridge Was Real
Kevin Fallon
October 31, 2014
On a Smiths-themed boat tour, the phrase ‘misery loves company’ is predictably proven.
This Charming Man: Meet 'Ronnissey,' Brooklyn's Fake Morrissey
Michael Moynihan
September 10, 2014
Another film you made, that a lot of people might not know you directed, is Misery.
Rob Reiner on the State of Romcoms, ‘The Princess Bride’s’ Alternate Ending, and the Red Viper
Marlow Stern
July 27, 2014
If comedy is born of pain and misery, he has already experienced more than his share.
Jim Norton And His Many Vices
Lloyd Grove
July 25, 2014

Historical Examples of misery

And let it be considered, what misery to me, Madam, if I marry that hated Solmes!
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
And what I overheard in the armoury--about a telegram--telling me--putting me out of my misery?
Viviette
William J. Locke
But she had not so much share in her own cheerfulness as her poor aunts had in their misery.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
In the selfishness of his misery he looked upon this as lack of sympathy with himself.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
Now, she was sunken in an apathy that saved her from the worst pangs of misery.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana

British Dictionary definitions for misery

misery

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

Word Origin and History for misery

late 14c., "condition of external unhappiness," from Old French misere "miserable situation, misfortune, distress" (12c.), from Latin miseria "wretchedness," from miser (see miser). Meaning "condition of one in great sorrow or mental distress" is from 1530s. Meaning "bodily pain" is 1825, American English.

Idioms and Phrases with misery

misery

In addition to the idiom beginning with misery

misery loves company

also see:

put someone out of his or her misery