as in boo
used to express sorrow or distress
ah, woe, with the death of the last of my siblings I am alone in this world!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in distress
a state of great suffering of body or mind
a tale of misery and woe
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sorrow
deep sadness especially for the loss of someone or something loved
the incessant woe that has haunted her since the death of her husband
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of woe
Julie Hinds, Freep.com, 31 July 2025
As such, a deal for Watkins would be a sensible rather than spectacular move to salve the club’s goalscoring woes.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 29 July 2025
The nonprofit sector’s woes are compounded by President Donald Trump’s tax bill, which reduces tax incentives for wealthy donors and makes steep cuts to social safety net programs.
—Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 11 July 2025
Now in our mid-80s, the Baltimore Brothers — and our wives — have been affected by the woes of aging, but what none of us ever expected was a senseless, deadly terrorist attack.
—Roberto Loiederman, Baltimore Sun, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for woe
Noun
The noted documentary focused on the Motor City's financial woes in the global marketplace.
—Julie Hinds, Freep.com, 31 July 2025
As such, a deal for Watkins would be a sensible rather than spectacular move to salve the club’s goalscoring woes.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 29 July 2025
The nonprofit sector’s woes are compounded by President Donald Trump’s tax bill, which reduces tax incentives for wealthy donors and makes steep cuts to social safety net programs.
—Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 11 July 2025
Now in our mid-80s, the Baltimore Brothers — and our wives — have been affected by the woes of aging, but what none of us ever expected was a senseless, deadly terrorist attack.
—Roberto Loiederman, Baltimore Sun, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for woe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for woe
Interjection
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Williams also recalled witnessing the Super Bowl crowd boo Taylor Swift when she was shown on the jumbotron cheering on her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
17 Apr. 2025
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Highlights include a costume parade (for kids and parents), a Purim story and boo Haman and songs.—
Linda McIntosh,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2024
Noun
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Notably, unemployment among Black men spiked significantly from 5.2% in May to 6.9% in July, illustrating a spreading distress that often starts with the most vulnerable groups and then extends wider in the labor market.—
Aisha Nyandoro,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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The legislation also follows several studies that highlighted concerning examples of AI therapy tools overlooking, or even encouraging, signs of mental distress.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
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On the OpenAI community forums and Reddit, long-time chatters are expressing sorrow at losing access to models like GPT-4o.—
Ryan Whitwam,
ArsTechnica,
8 Aug. 2025
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As images of starving children in Gaza continue to circulate and the international outcry grows louder, a number of American rabbis used their pulpits to speak up about the humanitarian crisis, some with sorrow, others with moral urgency, and many with a sense that silence was no longer tenable.—
Asaf Elia-Shalev,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
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For many, the relationship with tequila ended in their early 20s with promises made to some dormitory deity — often made of porcelain — to end a miserable night’s agony.—
Todd Harmonson,
Oc Register,
4 Aug. 2025
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My wing-scarfing strategy was to plow through as many as possible before the agony set in, then survive the remainder without committing the day-ruining error of touching my eyes.—
Bradley Hohulin,
IndyStar,
2 Aug. 2025
Noun
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As the hours pass, the anguish of the families and their fellow miners has increased.—
Cristopher Ulloa,
CNN Money,
2 Aug. 2025
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The passage of time may increase the anguish of self-examination, but the search for truth is always worth the cost.—
Gary Knight,
Rolling Stone,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Nothing was achieved except more misery for the region at the hands of Hamas and its allies.—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
11 Aug. 2025
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The question of whether there is hunger is different from the question of who is responsible for the misery.—
Seth Mandel,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In one of her studies, Moore examined how people self-police online grief.—
Alessandra Schade,
Time,
5 Aug. 2025
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Kelly Osbourne admitted her struggle with grief in the wake of the death of her father, rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, has been coming in waves.—
Tracy Wright,
FOXNews.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Interjection
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In the north of the British Isles, people sometimes combined ye, a second person plural pronoun for you, along with aw, meaning all.—
Bill Chappell,
NPR,
16 July 2025
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Studies of fathers have generated some alarmist headlines over the years, and Hrdy has kindly collated them: no dad joke: fatherhood shrinks the brain; aw, nuts!—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harper's Magazine,
30 Mar. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Woe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/woe. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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