woeful

Also wo·ful

[woh-fuhl]

adjective

1. full of woe; wretched; unhappy.

   a woeful situation.

2. affected with, characterized by, or indicating woe.

   woeful melodies.

3. of wretched quality; sorry; poor.

   a woeful collection of paintings.

   Synonyms: awful, dreadful, unlikely, unpromising

woeful

/ ˈwəʊfəl /

adjective

1. expressing or characterized by sorrow

2. bringing or causing woe

3. pitiful; miserable

   a woeful standard of work

Other Word Forms

• woefully adverb
• woefulness noun
• unwoeful adjective
• unwoefulness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of woeful¹

A Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; woe, -ful

Example Sentences

The promised improvement after last season's woeful 15th-place finish is yet to materialise, and afterwards Amorim was forced to answer more questions about his future.

From BBC

Mr Barton, 58, said: "This came out of the blue and with no clear direction. I think it's absolutely woeful of any government to not have that direction."

From BBC

Come nightfall, the eerie silence is often pierced by the woeful bleat of a wandering burro.

From Los Angeles Times

The woeful week began on Aug. 14, when a wildlife health and care team conducted a medical examination of Kalluk.

From Los Angeles Times

The Public Accounts Committee - a cross party group of MPs - called the level of pollution "woeful".

From BBC

Related Words

• appalling 
• awful 
• calamitous 
• deplorable 
• disappointing 
• disastrous 
• dreadful 
• feeble 
• grim 
• lamentable 
• lousy 
• miserable 
• paltry 
• pathetic 
• pitiful 
• shocking 
• sorry 
• wretched