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

• aching
• agonized
• anguished
• bemoaning
• bewailing
• bitter
• deploring
• doleful
• dolesome
• dolorous
• funeral
• grieving
• heartbroken
• lamentable
• lugubrious
• mournful
• plaintive
• plangent
• regretful
• rueful
• sorrowful
• sorry
• wailing
• weeping

Examples of woeful in a Sentence

The puppy had woeful eyes.

The student's grades were woeful.

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Put it this way: The Predator plays like the sort of woeful franchise restart that the characters in a Shane Black script would make fun of. 5. —Will Leitch, Vulture, 9 June 2025

Interim Kings coach Doug Christie was pleased with the way his team responded against the Hornets after suffering a dispiriting loss to the woeful Washington Wizards on Wednesday. —Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 5 Apr. 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