misery

noun

mis·​ery ˈmi-zə-rē How to pronounce misery (audio)
ˈmiz-rē
plural miseries
1
: a state of suffering and want that is the result of poverty or affliction
War brought misery to thousands of refugees.
2
: a circumstance, thing, or place that causes suffering or discomfort
the joys and miseries of life
3
: a state of great unhappiness and emotional distress
My former boss made my life a misery.
Choose the Right Synonym for misery

distress, suffering, misery, agony mean the state of being in great trouble.

distress implies an external and usually temporary cause of great physical or mental strain and stress.

the hurricane put everyone in great distress

suffering implies conscious endurance of pain or distress.

the suffering of famine victims

misery stresses the unhappiness attending especially sickness, poverty, or loss.

the homeless live with misery every day

agony suggests pain too intense to be borne.

in agony over the death of their child

Examples of misery in a Sentence

The war brought misery to thousands of refugees. They were living in overcrowded slums in conditions of great misery. a source of human misery the joy and misery of life The last years of her life were a misery. Stop being such a misery.
Recent Examples on the Web That’s a lot of unnecessary misery, all caused by the perilous pursuit of profit. Peter Ubel, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 My body had become a walking sign of misery and righteousness, slow death and supremacy, self-erasure and self-display. Anna Shechtman, Harper's Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024 Buy into easy money pitches: Beware of debt settlement companies promising a quick fix to your credit card debt misery. Michelle Singletary, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2024 The misery produced by this idea (see: the Great Recession) has not dampened its allure. Amanda Hess, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2024 Last month, cities in Germany were brought to a standstill by thousands of rallying farmers braving freezing temperatures, piling misery on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition. Sophie Tanno, CNN, 3 Feb. 2024 Forecasters expect the misery caused by the first storm to be relatively brief, with the system doing its worst on Wednesday and Thursday before moving out of the area. Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2024 Key injuries to the offensive line led to Mahomes having to run for his life on every play, and drops from everybody, including trusted sources Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce only added to the misery. Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 29 Jan. 2024 With most of Gaza's 2.3 million people displaced by Israel's military offensive, more than half of them crammed into the Rafah area near the boundary with Egypt, a shortage of diapers is making life a misery for babies and their parents. Fox News, 19 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'misery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of misery was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near misery

Cite this Entry

“Misery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misery. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

misery

noun
mis·​ery ˈmiz-(ə-)rē How to pronounce misery (audio)
plural miseries
1
: a state of great suffering and want due to poverty or misfortune
2
: a source of misery
3
: a state of unhappiness

More from Merriam-Webster on misery

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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