woeful

adjective

woe·​ful ˈwō-fəl How to pronounce woeful (audio)
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 adverb
woefulness noun

Examples of woeful in a Sentence

The puppy had woeful eyes. The student's grades were woeful.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
There is nothing that forces a shake-up and introspection more than an Ashes whitewash, and England turned to one of the biggest figures in women’s cricket history after a woeful winter. Paul Newman, New York Times, 28 June 2025 In the Dodgers’ 9-7 win against the woeful Colorado Rockies, the veteran slugger went two for five with an early double and a go-ahead home run, keying the team’s six-run rally in the fourth with a three-run blast launched deep to right. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2025 The hard-throwing Venezuelan shut out woeful Washington over 5 2/3 innings on Wednesday night. Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 19 June 2025 But Ehlers might block one of San Jose’s power forward prospects, and Ekblad would be a serious upgrade for a woeful defense. Scott Powers, New York Times, 14 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for woeful

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Woeful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woeful. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

woeful

adjective
woe·​ful ˈwō-fəl How to pronounce woeful (audio)
1
: full of woe
a woeful tale
2
: involving or bringing woe
a woeful occurrence
3
: pitifully bad
woeful ignorance
woefully adverb
woefulness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on woeful

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!