1
as in agony
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness
the flood brought misery to the many hundreds whom it had made homeless
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in distress
a state of great suffering of body or mind
a medication that promises to provide greater relief to those living in chronic misery because of arthritis
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of misery
Inarguably one of the best teams in the country annually, the Boilermakers had a string of March miseries.
—
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 18 Mar. 2026
The world holds so much misery that miserable hearts forget the face of happiness.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2026
While most of us on the plane were in this same unexpected predicament, a passenger nearby didn't seem to be sharing in our misery thanks to a compact gadget that propped up their phone to the perfect viewing height.
—Annita Katee, Travel + Leisure, 16 Mar. 2026
The war has killed over 1,300 in Iran, 820 in Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands have been displaced, with poor weather compounding the misery.
—Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for misery
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 18 Mar. 2026
The world holds so much misery that miserable hearts forget the face of happiness.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2026
While most of us on the plane were in this same unexpected predicament, a passenger nearby didn't seem to be sharing in our misery thanks to a compact gadget that propped up their phone to the perfect viewing height.
—Annita Katee, Travel + Leisure, 16 Mar. 2026
The war has killed over 1,300 in Iran, 820 in Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands have been displaced, with poor weather compounding the misery.
—Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for misery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misery
Noun
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Most Miami Beach residents and visitors have likely seen the giant bronze sculpture of an outstretched arm reaching to the sky as hundreds of small human figures cling to it and each other with expressions of agony.—
Lauren Costantino
March 27,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
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But in the short term, the decision is likely to be popular with millions of Americans who’ve seen all the airport agony and have never liked the idea of using federal government shutdowns — of any kind, by either party — to win partisan policy fights.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In recent years, the military has become increasingly dependent on chaplains to help address the growing numbers of troops in mental health distress.—
Tiffany Stanley,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Mar. 2026
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For the controller handling both ground and tower communications in this period, the United flight’s distress was a significant situation that posed its own concerns.—
Colleen Mondor,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But after the brutal crash on the first run and a second run that wasn’t much better, the dream looked to be more of a nightmare.—
Gawon Bae,
CNN Money,
27 Mar. 2026
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But the party could face a nightmare scenario in the nation's most populous state, where polling shows Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco leading the pack in the June 2 nonpartisan primary.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Initially the pain is pretty severe, but after a little bit it kind of winds down.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
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The Environmental Protection Agency issued emergency waivers to allow E15 gasoline sales, which is otherwise only allowed for part of the year due to environmental concerns, in an effort to ease pain at the gas pump earlier this week.—
Hailey Bullis,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Amnesty International has said that the use of the death penalty under the new measure could violate the right to life and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as enshrined in international law.—
Julia Frankel,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2026
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Pearl, now 42, pleaded guilty to murder in February 2018 and admitted to a special circumstance allegation of murder involving torture.—
Rick Montanez,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But some congregants’ anguish over October 7th was compounded by dread about Israel’s brutal, indiscriminate response.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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Accenting the anguish by bizarre apparent coincidence, less than two weeks later the National Basketball Rules Committee reinstated the dunk — it had been banned for nearly a decade at the amateur level.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The plot attends both to twentieth-century horrors, such as Ukraine’s Holodomor, and to what Reed saw coming, in social media’s incessant threat to our inner life.—
Stephanie Burt,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
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In the horror sequel, Josh Hutcherson and Elizabeth Lail return to face new foes as well the old murderous animatronic animals of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Side sleepers often place greater pressure on the shoulders and hips, so a surface that is too firm may cause discomfort in those areas.—
Jason Phillips,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
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The legendary performer, 82, revealed that what began as minor discomfort ultimately led to a stage 1 lung cancer diagnosis — discovered only because of a doctor’s instinct to look deeper.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misery. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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