woeful

adjective

woe·​ful ˈwō-fəl 

variants or less commonly woful

1

: full of woe : grievous

woeful prophecies

2

: involving or bringing woe

3

: lamentably bad or serious : deplorable

woeful ignorance

woefully

ˈwō-f(ə-)lē 

adverb

woefulness

ˈwō-fəl-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of woeful

• mournful
• weeping
• heartbroken
• funeral
• bitter
• lamentable
• grieving
• wailing
• sad

Examples of woeful in a Sentence

The puppy had woeful eyes.

The student's grades were woeful.

Recent Examples on the Web

The 24-year-old Italian was mixing woeful drop shots with regulation misses (Sinner made 54 unforced errors in the first three sets) against Kecmanović, who was serving brilliantly and skidding the ball through the court. — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 29 June 2026

Mike Trout presumably has witnessed every possible blooper, blunder and boo-boo in 16 seasons with the woeful Angels. — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026

This is troubling because the aura and confident air of the AI can lead them down woeful paths. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 2 June 2026

New York would go on to lose the next two at the Summit, in no small part thanks to John Stark’s woeful 2-of-18 shooting from the field in the deciding frame. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 29 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for woeful

• toefl
• woful

Kids Definition

woeful

adjective

woe·​ful ˈwō-fəl 

1

: full of woe

a woeful tale

2

: involving or bringing woe

a woeful occurrence

3

: pitifully bad

woeful ignorance

woefully

-f(ə-)lē 

adverb

woefulness

-fəl-nəs 

noun