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
Dak Prescott and the Cowboys offense have been solid through the first eight games of the 2025 NFL season, but the Dallas defense has fallen woefully short.
—
Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Production on season one had fallen woefully behind schedule, as whole episodes were scrapped, scripts were written at the eleventh hour and producers, including Bell, began second-guessing the series’ tone.
—Lacey Rose, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
Even well into the 1930s, America’s defense machinery was woefully lacking, especially in the critical transport of material and personnel.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 17 Oct. 2025
These methods, while less exacting, are also woefully undemocratic, allowing lawmakers to act independently from and against the interests of the American public.
—Big Think, 10 Oct. 2025
Cope is woefully unprepared for the physical rigor of boot camp, but fully invested in making it to graduation.
—Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2025
This means that housing is woefully out of reach for many of my patients.
—Sarah Stella, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025
Blanket statements about boundaries are woefully inadequate because the contexts of our relationships matter.
—Margeaux Feldman, Time, 7 Oct. 2025
Daniels, the union president, said his controllers have dealt with a woefully understaffed air traffic control system for years.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Production on season one had fallen woefully behind schedule, as whole episodes were scrapped, scripts were written at the eleventh hour and producers, including Bell, began second-guessing the series’ tone.
—Lacey Rose, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
Even well into the 1930s, America’s defense machinery was woefully lacking, especially in the critical transport of material and personnel.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 17 Oct. 2025
These methods, while less exacting, are also woefully undemocratic, allowing lawmakers to act independently from and against the interests of the American public.
—Big Think, 10 Oct. 2025
Cope is woefully unprepared for the physical rigor of boot camp, but fully invested in making it to graduation.
—Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2025
This means that housing is woefully out of reach for many of my patients.
—Sarah Stella, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025
Blanket statements about boundaries are woefully inadequate because the contexts of our relationships matter.
—Margeaux Feldman, Time, 7 Oct. 2025
Daniels, the union president, said his controllers have dealt with a woefully understaffed air traffic control system for years.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for woefully
Adverb
-
But, sadly, the symptoms continued.—
Lisa Vernon-Sparks,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
-
There was sadly no chance for Soundgarden to stage a complete reunion, but drummer Matt Cameron, guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassists Ben Shepherd and Hiro Yamamoto were all on hand to honor the late Chris Cornell.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
9 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
The Thrombeys argue bitterly about politics, money, and immigration.—
Anna Russell,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The federal government shutdown enters its 21st day – headed toward its fourth week – as Democrats and Republicans remain bitterly divided over how to resolve rising health care costs.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
When cases do move forward, justice is often partial and painfully slow, with proceedings stretching on for years and often failing to bring those ultimately responsible to justice.—
Scott Griffen,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Even if inflation was falling, prices were still rising – just more slowly, and from painfully high levels.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
That can take nefarious forms, such as hypothetically hard-coding cheaper ticket prices into the site that are hidden to human users but visible to AI bots, making the platform seem like a more affordable option to the computer model.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
10 Nov. 2025
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The show’s second season, based on Mona Kasten’s book Save You, follows the first installment, which found James Beaufort (Damien Hardung) and Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten) go from enemies to lovers as the both worked hard to get into Oxford.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Woefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/woefully. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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