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 Women account for a woeful 7% of the board chairs across 15 leading AI companies that are shaping our future world. Luba Kassova, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024 The Heat allowed the woeful Pistons to hang around all night before doing enough late to win for the seventh time in eight games. Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2024 In other words: 12 of their 15 losses have come during three woeful stretches. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024 Just two years earlier, the Diamondbacks slithered to a woeful 57-102 record. Chuck Murr, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 Brock Purdy, who had been woeful in the first half and shaky to start the second, despite that opening-drive field goal, had uncorked a deep pass down the middle of the field on the second play of the drive. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2024 Just like the great debate over which way the toilet paper roll goes, there is a similar spat over flushing: lid open or closed? Scientists have weighed in with their own woeful conclusion: Neither is a solution to stopping the spread of dangerous germs. Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2024 Friday’s woeful free-throw shooting follows a 4-for-15 outing in IU’s loss at Rutgers on Tuesday. Zion Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 13 Jan. 2024 As Fashion Week in New York kicks off on Feb. 9, a growing chorus of hybrid model-actors are drawing attention to the woeful working conditions that models face and are calling for meaningful change. Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 9 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'woeful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Dictionary Entries Near woeful

Cite this Entry

“Woeful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woeful. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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
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