woe
profound grief or distress: His woe at the terrible news was almost beyond description.
an affliction or cause of distress: She suffered a fall, among her other woes.
an exclamation of grief, distress, or lamentation.
Idioms about woe
woe betide, trouble or punishment will come upon (someone) if they take the specified action: 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.: Also woe to .
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.
Origin of woe
1synonym study For woe
Other words for woe
Opposites for woe
Words Nearby woe
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use woe in a sentence
The city’s stormwater woes are felt most acutely in the same neighborhoods that have been historically left behind when it comes to infrastructure investments.
Morning Report: The Stormwater Deficit Is a Big Deal | Voice of San Diego | February 8, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoThe problem is compounded by a growing waitlist and the department’s chronic money woes, shortfalls that prompt the agency to lease some of its Oahu lands to commercial interests.
The Government Promised to Return Ancestral Hawaiian Land, Then Never Finished the Job | by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and Agnel Philip, ProPublica | December 19, 2020 | ProPublicaThere’s not a definitive solution to the free-throw shooting woes of Paralympic athletes.
Why Are Free Throws So Much Harder To Come By In Wheelchair Basketball? | John Loeppky | November 30, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightTranslating that advice into action will be no easy task in today’s political climate, but the report suggests it’s time to stop blaming technology for our woes.
MIT Report: Robots Aren’t the Biggest Threat to the Future of Work—Policy Is | Edd Gent | November 23, 2020 | Singularity HubThe push for more dramatic responses to the city’s homelessness and housing woes line up with the results of recent VOSD polling showing the vast majority of county residents consider those issues among the region’s foremost crises.
Morning Report: Voters Sent a Message on Housing Solutions | Voice of San Diego | November 5, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
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 | THE DAILY BEASTBut instead of a witty pop song, we have yet more woe-is-me-feel-my-pain from an overpaid, over-cosseted celebrity.
woe unto the politicians and parties that fail to grok this, as they will face only bigger and bigger losses in market share.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTAs the Blizzard of 2014 moves out to sea, it's left a wake of wintery woe behind.
After the Blizzard, 100 Million People Will Be Hit With Freezing Air From the North Pole | Eric Holthaus | January 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe must be The saltest fish that swims the sea.And, oh!He has a secret woe!
woe to the man that first did teach the cursed steel to bite in his own flesh, and make way to the living spirit.
Pearls of Thought | Maturin M. BallouA woe is pronounced against sinners: the army of God shall send against them.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Variouswoe to you that rise up early in the morning to follow drunkenness, and to drink in the evening, to be inflamed with wine.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various"They look ever on woe;" and he laid the baby back on Ramona's breast, and stood gazing sadly at her.
Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
British Dictionary definitions for woe
/ (wəʊ) /
literary intense grief or misery
(often plural) affliction or misfortune
woe betide someone misfortune will befall someone: woe betide you if you arrive late
Also: woe is me archaic an exclamation of sorrow or distress
Origin of woe
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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