What does woeful mean?
Woeful means Full of woe; sorrowful; distressed with grief or calamity..
Woeful
/ˈwəʊfəl/ · adjective
Meaning
Full of woe; sorrowful; distressed with grief or calamity..
Definitions by Sense
- Full of woe; sorrowful; distressed with grief or calamity.
- Bringing calamity, distress, or affliction.
- Lamentable, deplorable.
- Wretched; paltry; poor.
Example Sentences
How many woeful widows left to bow / To sad disgrace!
a woeful event
a woeful lack of restraint
Thou seest we are not all alone unhappy: This wide and universal theatre Presents more woeful pageants than the scene Wherein we play in.
What woful stuff this madrigal would be / In some starv'd hackney sonneteer or me!
Synonyms for woeful
Antonyms for woeful
Related Words
Word Forms
- woefuller
- woefullest
- woful
- wofull
Usage Notes
Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.
Practice and Learn More
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a synonym for woeful?
Common synonyms include miserable, woe, atrabiliary, atrabilious.
What is the opposite of woeful?
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
How do you use woeful in a sentence?
How many woeful widows left to bow / To sad disgrace!
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.