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Synonyms

woeful

American  
[woh-fuhl] / ˈwoʊ fəl /
Also woful

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 British  
/ ˈwəʊfəl /

adjective

  1. expressing or characterized by sorrow

  2. bringing or causing woe

  3. pitiful; miserable

    a woeful standard of work
"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

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of woeful

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Root is a two-time Ashes winner in home series, but his career has coincided with England's woeful record down under.

From BBC

Root's masterclass helped England to a competitive 384 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but Head feasted on some woeful bowling to skip to an unbeaten 91 from 87 balls.

From BBC

Tunisia did well to hold Morocco, but were woeful against Nigeria until they trailed by three goals.

From Barron's

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said the Premier League champions have to improve a woeful record defending set-pieces if they are to continue an upturn in form.

From Barron's

But Howe has struggled all season for answers to the Magpies' woeful form on the road.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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