woe 1 of 2

interjection

ˈwō How to pronounce woe (audio)
Definition of woenext
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

woe

2 of 2

noun

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

Synonym Chooser

How is the word woe different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of woe are anguish, grief, regret, and sorrow. While all these words mean "distress of mind," woe is deep or inconsolable grief or misery.

cries of woe echoed throughout the bombed city

When is it sensible to use anguish instead of woe?

The meanings of anguish and woe largely overlap; however, anguish suggests torturing grief or dread.

the anguish felt by the parents of the kidnapped child

When is grief a more appropriate choice than woe?

The words grief and woe can be used in similar contexts, but grief implies poignant sorrow for an immediate cause.

the inexpressible grief of the bereaved parents

Where would regret be a reasonable alternative to woe?

While the synonyms regret and woe are close in meaning, regret implies pain caused by deep disappointment, fruitless longing, or unavailing remorse.

nagging regret for missed opportunities

When can sorrow be used instead of woe?

While in some cases nearly identical to woe, sorrow implies a sense of loss or a sense of guilt and remorse.

a family united in sorrow upon the patriarch's death

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 woe
Noun
Despite the dramatic implications of the film’s title, Erupcja has a casual, slice-of-life vibe to it that prevents Bethany and Rob’s woes from teetering into melodrama. —Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025 Not the dewy-eyed woe-is-me sensitive type, this one. —Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2025 The film pivots when Kevin ducks into a cathedral and overcomes his fear of Marley to have a touching conversation about their respective family woes. —Tim Greiving, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025 Keep these things elsewhere to avoid mildew and other storage woes. —Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 2 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for woe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for woe
  1. distress
  2. sorrow
  3. agony
  4. anguish
  5. misery
  6. grief
  7. aw
  8. pain
Noun
  • Eileen’s imminent arrival is made even more dramatic when a younger woman named Thea (Imogen Poots) turns up at Hedda’s door in a state of distress.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2025
  • However, without Chinese demand, this abundant supply threatens to further depress prices and worsen farmers’ financial distress.
    — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2025
Definition of distress
Noun
  • Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel Hamnet imagined the relationship between the Bard and his spouse as an intimate tale of lust, compromise, joy, resentment, support, and sorrow.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Jolie nonetheless manages to bring some palpable life to the role, complicating her otherworldly magnetism with a dawning dread and sorrow.
    — Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
Definition of sorrow
Noun
  • Hank, having already experienced life-changing failure, is also able to absorb beatings that would destroy most people, endure the agony, and leap back into action.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2025
  • The buddy story ended in agony when it was revealed that Edwards was on the list and complicit in the ambush plot.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Definition of agony
Noun
  • Haley Robson described the anguish caused by ever-metastasizing Epstein conspiracy theories and endless Epstein news cycles, and her hope that releasing the files could finally put the case to bed.
    — Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Above all, there’s Rob, whose romantic getaway has turned into a slog of romantic anguish.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2025
Definition of anguish
Noun
  • Befriended by the aged proprietor of a now defunct Greek coast restaurant, the hen becomes an unwitting witness of human misery – greed, migrant trafficking, revenge upon revenge.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Task begins by setting up the parallels between Tom and Robbie, two flawed men trying to keep their heads above the water of their own miseries, cutting back and forth between their routines to emphasize their similar ideologies and spontaneities.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Definition of misery
Noun
  • However, nothing negates the unique way in which people from the South embrace socializing with each other, which brings us to a potentially awkward situation that arises often enough and gives grief to even the most polite Southerners.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Anyone who’s been blindsided by grief and still found a way to move forward.
    — Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Definition of grief
Interjection
  • 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
  • And then … aw, just cue up the video player for the epic Francisco Lindor homer that won this thing!
    — Jayson Stark, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
Definition of aw
Noun
  • There is little reason to assume that negotiations won’t continue after the court’s decision, because there are still myriad ways that the government can inflict pain on the university.
    — Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2025
  • The goal of treatment is to care for the small wound, manage any pain, and avoid potential infection.
    — Carrie Madormo, Health, 6 Sep. 2025
Definition of pain

Browse Nearby Words

wobbly
woe
woebegone
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Woe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/woe. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on woe

Nglish: Translation of woe for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

A Guide to Using Semicolons

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 3

Our Best Historical Slang Terms

Birds Say the Darndest Things

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Better Ways to Say 'This Sucks'
See More

Popular

See More

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 3

Our Best Historical Slang Terms
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
high school student holding a pencil leaning over a sat test
Challenging Standardized Test Words 20 questions to help you score 1600
See All