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

• 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

Sorry, but this is not about Scott, woeful though his season has been. —Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025

Yes, there are good reasons to question NASA's long-term plans for the Artemis lunar program—the woeful cost of the Space Launch System rocket, the complexity of new commercial landers, and a bleak budget outlook. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025

The Miami Dolphins got steamrolled on Sunday afternoon by the Indianapolis Colts, and head coach Mike McDaniel wasted no time shouldering the blame for the woeful performance. —Hunter Mulholland, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025

Each episode includes the woeful word in place of another. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025

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