as in sadly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
woefully recounted the many injustices that the family had endured at the hands of the dictator
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Recent Examples of woefully
Older Americans who want to cover long-term care Many Americans are woefully unprepared for the costs of long-term care, retirement experts say.
—
Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 15 Feb. 2026
If democracy is defined by the right of citizens to participate in the decisions that shape their lives, then a system that excludes millions of voters from the most consequential part of the election is falling woefully short.
—Terry Lierman, Baltimore Sun, 10 Feb. 2026
Constance Duffle, a paramedic in Siskiyou County at the Oregon border, serves a vast wilderness region woefully in need of health professionals.
—Christopher Buchanan, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
The renegade group of aldermen who passed the budget against Johnson’s will forced the meeting after Johnson’s administration paid only half of a roughly $260 million advance payment to help fund the city’s woefully underfunded public pensions.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
The current available single family housing is woefully inadequate to accommodate any major influx of residents.
—Phillip Sitter, Des Moines Register, 3 Feb. 2026
But a recent body of work from several labs, published as a trio of papers in Science in 2025, provides the strongest evidence yet that a narrow focus on neurons is woefully insufficient for understanding how the brain works.
—Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 30 Jan. 2026
While Russia and China have dedicated significant resources to beefing up their own security position in the Arctic, America has fallen woefully behind.
—Tristan Bove, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026
Cassidy and Tillis were critical to making the woefully unfit Pete Hegseth secretary of Defense.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2026
Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 15 Feb. 2026
If democracy is defined by the right of citizens to participate in the decisions that shape their lives, then a system that excludes millions of voters from the most consequential part of the election is falling woefully short.
—Terry Lierman, Baltimore Sun, 10 Feb. 2026
Constance Duffle, a paramedic in Siskiyou County at the Oregon border, serves a vast wilderness region woefully in need of health professionals.
—Christopher Buchanan, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
The renegade group of aldermen who passed the budget against Johnson’s will forced the meeting after Johnson’s administration paid only half of a roughly $260 million advance payment to help fund the city’s woefully underfunded public pensions.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
The current available single family housing is woefully inadequate to accommodate any major influx of residents.
—Phillip Sitter, Des Moines Register, 3 Feb. 2026
But a recent body of work from several labs, published as a trio of papers in Science in 2025, provides the strongest evidence yet that a narrow focus on neurons is woefully insufficient for understanding how the brain works.
—Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 30 Jan. 2026
While Russia and China have dedicated significant resources to beefing up their own security position in the Arctic, America has fallen woefully behind.
—Tristan Bove, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026
Cassidy and Tillis were critical to making the woefully unfit Pete Hegseth secretary of Defense.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for woefully
Adverb
-
The Super Bowl, sadly, was a snoozer.—
Brendan Marks,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
-
One man sadly watched the commemoration from a sidewalk in Tehran, not taking part.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
The ultra-chic crewneck sweater has a slightly oversized fit that’s perfect for cozying up on a long-haul flight and or layering with a turtleneck on bitterly cold winter days.—
Melony Forcier,
Travel + Leisure,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Not bitterly, not hysterically—openly, with the sound of someone arriving at a recognition both painful and clarifying.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
17 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
But Wemby got his painfully cool peers to play along, to pick up the tempo – and their defense, often at half court.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
16 Feb. 2026
-
My path has crossed languages and cultures, continents and genres, sometimes gracefully, sometimes a little painfully, but always guided by curiosity and deep faith in cinema.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
What has been hardest is seeing ordinary lives, families, young people, civilians slowly reduced to headlines or abstractions, rather than recognized as individuals living under immense and sustained pressure.—
Emily Chan,
Vogue,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Essentially, what seem like small tweaks have noticeable impacts on control when pushing the ski hard.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Woefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/woefully. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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