woeful

adjective

woe·ful | \ ˈwō-fəl

How to pronounce woeful (audio)

\

variants: or less commonly woful

Definition of woeful

1 : full of woe : grievous woeful prophecies

2 : involving or bringing woe

3 : lamentably bad or serious : deplorable woeful ignorance

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Examples of woeful in a Sentence

The puppy had woeful eyes. The student's grades were woeful.

Recent Examples on the Web Still, the Tigers' woeful bats struggled to make contact against him. — Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, "Another weak offensive showing from Detroit Tigers in 6-2 loss to Kansas City Royals," 24 Apr. 2021 Narváez began the 2020 season as the No. 1 catcher but played his way into more bench time with a woeful offensive showing (.562 OPS). — Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Brewers reach agreement on contract with free agent Luke Maile, giving them six catchers," 5 Apr. 2021 The woeful first 20 minutes brought to mind two of the worst high-profile first halves in recent NCAA Tournament history. — Erick Smith, USA TODAY, "Ugly Sweet 16 game a beautiful win for Oregon State over Loyola Chicago in men's NCAA Tournament," 27 Mar. 2021 After his woeful-shooting first half Friday, Porzingis did, in fact, get to work in the third quarter. — Dallas News, "How Kristaps Porzingis’ struggles with smaller, pesky defenders mirror those of Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki," 21 Mar. 2021 Nonetheless, Feeney received a woeful 48.2 grade from PFF. — J.p. Pelzman, Forbes, "Evaluating What The New York Jets Have Done In Free Agency And What Potential Moves Are Left," 19 Mar. 2021 Boston lost for the third time in four games, with the Celtics' lone win coming against the woeful Houston Rockets. — Tom Withers, Star Tribune, "Sexton, Garland shine as Cavaliers end slide, beat Celtics," 17 Mar. 2021 Turning the ball over 16 times against a team that ranked 246th in adjusted defensive efficiency is woeful. — Stephen Means, cleveland, "Why was Ohio State basketball upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament?," 19 Mar. 2021 Despite a late push to win the woeful NFC East in 2020, the Giants are probably better served – given their current draft and cap resources – to stick with Jones for another year and try to build up the roster around him before considering a reboot. — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, "Opinion: Record-setting quarterback turnover a strong possibility for 2021 NFL season," 18 Feb. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'woeful.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

3 May 2021

Cite this Entry

“Woeful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woeful. Accessed 14 May. 2021.

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More Definitions for woeful

woeful

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of woeful

: full of woe : very sad

: very bad

See the full definition for woeful in the English Language Learners Dictionary

woeful

adjective

woe·ful | \ ˈwō-fəl

\

Kids Definition of woeful

1 : full of grief or misery a woeful heart a woeful tale

2 : bringing woe or misery a woeful day

3 : very bad Your grades are woeful.

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