Skip to main content

woefulextremely bad or distressing; causing sorrow or misery

Part of speech: ADJECTIVE

Definition: extremely bad or distressing; causing sorrow or misery

Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈwoʊfəl/

Example Sentences

  • My cooking skills are so woeful that even the smoke detector applauds when I'm done.
  • The company's woeful financial situation led to massive layoffs.
  • His woeful attempt at singing made the neighbors call the police, thinking someone was in distress.

woeful

ADJECTIVE

[/ˈwoʊfəl/]

extremely bad or distressing; causing sorrow or misery

The student's woeful violin performance makes the audience cover their ears
💡 Concept

The student's woeful violin performance makes the audience cover their ears

WOE-FULL guy overflows with sorrow - woefully drenched in distress!
🧠 Mnemonic

WOE-FULL guy overflows with sorrow - woefully drenched in distress!

A woeful soul seeks to become whole
🎵 Rhyme

A woeful soul seeks to become whole

Got the picture? Now let's practice.

🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ˈwoʊfəl/
🇬🇧 UK/ˈwəʊfʊl/

🌳Etymology

Rootwoe
Suffix--ful

Origin

From Middle English 'woeful', derived from 'woe' (sorrow, grief) combined with the suffix '-ful' (full of). The word 'woe' has Old English roots, from Proto-Germanic origins meaning deep distress or lamentation.

Breakdown

woe (sorrow, grief) + -ful (full of, characterized by) = woeful (full of woe, extremely distressing)

🎵Rhyme

soulgoalrolewhole
soul
goal
role
whole

🔗Collocations

woeful performance
woeful lack
woeful tale
woeful condition
woeful ignorance
woefully inadequate

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

My cooking skills are so woeful that even the smoke detector applauds when I'm done.

The company's woeful financial situation led to massive layoffs.

😄 Fun example

His woeful attempt at singing made the neighbors call the police, thinking someone was in distress.

The woeful state of the old building made it unsafe for occupation.

📚Related Words

Synonyms

dreadfulterribleawfuldeplorablepitiful

Antonyms

excellentwonderfuladmirable

Related

sorrowfulmiserablelamentablepathetic

Want to master 19,000+ words?

Sign up free for flashcards & quizzes.