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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of misery
He was forced to live a life of misery and servitude to his aunt and uncle and their awful son before he was freed when Hagrid extended an invitation that changed his life forever.
—
Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 14 Apr. 2025
Life was good, especially after the last three seasons of misery, when games at this time of year were meaningless aside from their impact on the draft lottery.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
For civilians, the unrelenting misery of the last 18 months has just got a lot worse – especially as no aid has entered Gaza for six weeks.
—Tim Lister and Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 12 Apr. 2025
Boston Globe: Season 2 may go down some roads that are uncomfortable to follow, but once again, The Last of Us delivers a beautiful misery of a story about the limits of love and humanity in a broken world.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misery
Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 14 Apr. 2025
Life was good, especially after the last three seasons of misery, when games at this time of year were meaningless aside from their impact on the draft lottery.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
For civilians, the unrelenting misery of the last 18 months has just got a lot worse – especially as no aid has entered Gaza for six weeks.
—Tim Lister and Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 12 Apr. 2025
Boston Globe: Season 2 may go down some roads that are uncomfortable to follow, but once again, The Last of Us delivers a beautiful misery of a story about the limits of love and humanity in a broken world.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misery
Noun
-
Ellie is stricken with agony, her reaction almost feral.—
Noel Murray,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
-
The agony of not knowing was heartbreakingly illustrated by the plight of Oscar Johnson, of St. Charles.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Kahle said that includes providing resources to participants for whom sharing experiences of intimate partner violence may cause trauma or mental health distress.—
Rae Ellen Bichell and Rachana Pradhan,
Miami Herald,
20 Apr. 2025
-
Costa Rican officials have disputed reports by the country’s Ombudsman’s Office that the deportees arrived in Costa Rica in visible distress and that authorities failed to guarantee proper conditions for arriving deportees.—
Megan Janetsky,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Package delivery and unpaid toll texts have taken most of the headlines, but an even worse threat is proving a nightmare for phone users.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
20 Apr. 2025
-
What begins as an ordinary parental milestone descends into a nightmare as a cross-border search unfolds.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Antivirals: Ear pain related to viruses may require antiviral medications.—
Mark Gurarie,
Health,
26 Apr. 2025
-
Perhaps Vrabel values the toughness Hill showed in playing through pain.—
Chad Graff,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The story said that Tidwell's testimony was also used in the sentencing of two other men: Calvin Stovall was sentenced to life in prison in 2008 on federal marijuana-trafficking charges, and Darrell Walker was sentenced to 24 years for participating in Johnson's torture and slaying.—
Daniel McFadin,
Arkansas Online,
28 Apr. 2025
-
Payton faces one charge each of torture and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder.—
Bailey Richards,
People.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
But Season 2, by leaning so far into its characters’ anguish, has become more circular and suffocating in its storytelling.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Coogler attempts to out-scare Jordan Peele’s Get Out, using horror tropes to match the anguish expressed by the blues.—
Armond White,
National Review,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The companies also joined forces on the horror Monitor, currently in production, and Simon Curtis’ Encore.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
29 Apr. 2025
-
The horror movie Late Night with the Devil sparked controversy for its use of AI to make three title cards, while Oscar favorites The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez landed in hot water over their use of voice-cloning technology.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them.,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
What begins as an attempt to shield oneself from discomfort gradually leads to emotional distance, where connection becomes harder to maintain.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
26 Apr. 2025
-
In September, Loveland injured the AC joint in his right shoulder and played through the discomfort.—
Dan Wiederer,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Misery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misery. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share