adjective
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expressing or characterized by sorrow
-
bringing or causing woe
-
pitiful; miserable
a woeful standard of work
Other Word Forms
- unwoeful adjective
- unwoefulness noun
- woefully adverb
- woefulness noun
Etymology
Origin of woeful
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Spurs' woeful run of form under Thomas Frank saw the Dane sacked earlier this month, with Tudor brought in to replicate the kind of mid-season recovery he managed with Italian sides Juventus and Lazio.
From Barron's
The owl and the polar bear stood silently, as if to pay respect to the clock’s woeful, abandoned state.
From Literature
The Himalayan republic votes on March 5 in the first parliamentary elections since deadly youth-led protests toppled the government in September, fuelled by anger at a woeful economy and lack of opportunities.
From Barron's
France kept alive their Grand Slam hopes with a convincing eight-try 54-12 hammering of woeful Wales who suffered a 13th successive Six Nations defeat.
From BBC
Stokes is back in England following a woeful Ashes tour, which ended with a 4-1 series loss to Australia.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
