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

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

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