woe

[ woh ]

/ woʊ /

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noun

grievous distress, affliction, or trouble: His woe was almost beyond description.

an affliction: She suffered a fall, among her other woes.

interjection

an exclamation of grief, distress, or lamentation.

Nearby words

Origin of woe

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

SYNONYMS FOR woe

1. anguish, tribulation, trial, wretchedness, melancholy. See sorrow.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR woe ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR woe

1. joy.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for woe

Woe be to her if another candidate with the appeal of an ice cream truck happens to drive by.
The Coronation That Wants to Be a Movement: Scenes From Hillary’s Iowa Steak Fry|Ana Marie Cox|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Woe unto the politicians and parties that fail to grok this, as they will face only bigger and bigger losses in market share.
Hey, Boomers—Millennials Hate Your Partisan Crap|Nick Gillespie|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Woe to you who have fallen away from the righteousness of your ancestors!
Did the Southern Baptist ‘Conservative Resurgence’ Fail?|Molly Worthen|June 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Woe unto thee good people of North Carolina for the Muslims are coming to impose Islamic law.
North Carolina, Your Anti-Sharia Law Takes the Cake|Dean Obeidallah|August 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST

His memoir is not the typical tell-all with tales of woe and abuse.
10 Fascinating Porn Star Memoirs: Aurora Snow on Porn Tell-Alls|Aurora Snow|May 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
If he had the misfortune to cross their path, it brought him a world of woe, and finally his downfall.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
Woe to those who shall pity you; you, the richest man of this country.
Euphorion|Vernon Lee
Now I knew that it was: and also I knew that the world was a place of torment and woe.
They Call Me Carpenter|Upton Sinclair
But before I give you time even for that, the remaining mysteries which still hang around your tale of woe shall be cleared up.
Lippincott's Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science, No. 23, February, 1873, Vol. XI. No. 23.|Various
Who can avoid its excitement when an object of distress is seen, or a tale of woe narrated?
The Sheepfold and the Common, Vol. I (of 2)|Timothy East

British Dictionary definitions for woe

woe

/ (wəʊ) /

noun

literary intense grief or misery

(often plural) affliction or misfortune

woe betide someone misfortune will befall someonewoe betide you if you arrive late

interjection

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

Word Origin for woe

Old English wā, wǣ; related to Old Saxon, Old High German wē, Old Norse vei, Gothic wai, Latin vae, Sanskrit uvē; see wail

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 woe

woe

Old English wa, a common exclamation of lament in many languages (cf. Latin væ, Greek oa, German weh, Lettish wai, Old Irish fe, Welsh gwae, Armenian vay). The noun is attested from late 12c., from the interjection.