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
Our public schools, particularly in poorer school districts, are woefully underfunded.
—
Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2026
In the next 111 seconds of game time, the Cavaliers outscored the Raptors 10-0, with Nogueira looking woefully out of place.
—Eric Koreen, New York Times, 27 May 2026
American midsize trucks like the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger can be woefully under-specced for carrying heavy work loads or campers and overlanding gear.
—C.c. Weiss
may 21, New Atlas, 21 May 2026
But this year’s increase will almost entirely net out next fiscal year with a one-time cut of $25 million to generate savings for the woefully over-budget Medicaid program.
—Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2026
Under its current leadership, customer service has fallen woefully short.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026
As this was an unprecedented case in which league officials participated in the deception, the remedy is woefully inadequate.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 3 May 2026
But in 2026, that savings account has been woefully deficient.
—Imtiaz Rangwala, Denver Post, 8 Apr. 2026
But in 2026, that savings account has been woefully deficient.
—Imtiaz Rangwala, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2026
Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2026
In the next 111 seconds of game time, the Cavaliers outscored the Raptors 10-0, with Nogueira looking woefully out of place.
—Eric Koreen, New York Times, 27 May 2026
American midsize trucks like the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger can be woefully under-specced for carrying heavy work loads or campers and overlanding gear.
—C.c. Weiss
may 21, New Atlas, 21 May 2026
But this year’s increase will almost entirely net out next fiscal year with a one-time cut of $25 million to generate savings for the woefully over-budget Medicaid program.
—Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2026
Under its current leadership, customer service has fallen woefully short.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026
As this was an unprecedented case in which league officials participated in the deception, the remedy is woefully inadequate.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 3 May 2026
But in 2026, that savings account has been woefully deficient.
—Imtiaz Rangwala, Denver Post, 8 Apr. 2026
But in 2026, that savings account has been woefully deficient.
—Imtiaz Rangwala, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for woefully
Adverb
-
Those faithful are making SpaceX not just the largest and most widely-lauded IPO ever, but sadly, far-and-away the most expensive.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
6 June 2026
-
As a fashion writer with expensive taste and a budget that (sadly) doesn’t always agree, TJ Maxx’s Runway section has become my go-to source for scoring designer finds at prices that feel too good to be true.—
Julia Morlino,
Travel + Leisure,
6 June 2026
Adverb
-
After Adele and her mother had fought, bitterly, about her decision to keep the baby, and then more bitterly about her refusal to find Jamie in Florida and demand child support, Bromley invited her to live with him while things cooled down at home.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
-
During the Nullification Crisis of 1831–1833, partisan journalists had a major role in framing the issue and were bitterly opposed to one another, especially in South Carolina.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
26 May 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
-
The novel painfully exposes the ruthless mistreatment and exploitation of both racehorses and humans in this era and tracks the ripples of that trauma through time.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
-
Audiences fell in love with Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt’s pitch-perfect chemistry as Paul and Jamie Buchman, a married couple whose everyday misadventures felt hilariously — sometimes painfully — relatable.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 June 2026
Adverb
-
Many cities and school districts are trying hard to line up job opportunities for young people.—
Dianna Douglas,
NPR,
6 June 2026
-
With his gregarious nature and hard-drinking demeanor, Lobo is an intimidating extraterrestrial mercenary and bounty hunter, but his origin story is brutal, even by those standards.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Woefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/woefully. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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