woebegone
adjective
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Breaking Down Woebegone
Whoa, whoa, whoa. We know that, at first glance, woebegone looks like a word that has its meaning backwards; after all, if begone means “go away,” shouldn’t woebegone mean “devoid of woe,” or “happy”? Not exactly. The word comes from the Middle English phrase wo begon. The wo in this phrase does indeed mean “woe,” but begon means “beset.” Someone who is woebegone, therefore, is beset with woe. Since the mid-1700s, the word has also been used to describe things that appear to express sadness, as in “the woebegone look on his face when he misplaced his favorite dictionary.”
Examples of woebegone in a Sentence
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2026
In two years Curt Cignetti took a woebegone college team, with nary a five-star player, to an undefeated national championship.
—Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2026
The Panda Express in the basement food court of downtown’s San Francisco Centre, the city’s largest mall, has closed, leaving the woebegone retail destination without any restaurants.
—Mario Cortez, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Jan. 2026
The Chargers would clinch the sixth-seeded spot with a victory over the Broncos or a loss by the Buffalo Bills to the woebegone New York Jets or a tie with the Broncos and a tie by the Bills or a tie with the Broncos and a loss by the Texans.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for woebegone
Cite this Entry
“Woebegone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woebegone. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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woebegone
adjective
