woeful

adjective
UK: /ˈwəʊfl/
US: /ˈwoʊfl/

  1. Very bad or serious; characterized by sorrow or misery.

    1. The team's woeful performance led to their defeat; it was very sad.
    2. After a woeful attempt to fix the car, he had to call a professional mechanic.

  2. Expressing sorrow or regret.

    1. She gave a woeful sigh after hearing the bad news from her friend.
    2. He recounted a woeful tale of hardship, his voice filled with despair and grief.

Synonyms

dreadful sad pathetic terrible deplorable awful miserable
woeful adverb

  1. In a manner expressing sorrow or regret; very badly.

    1. The choir sang woefully out of tune, it was really awful.
    2. Our team played woefully in the final game, losing by a large margin and missed the final.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "woeful" in English means: Very bad or serious; characterized by sorrow or misery., Expressing sorrow or regret..

The phonetic transcription of "woeful" is /ˈwəʊfl/ in British English and /ˈwoʊfl/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "woeful": dreadful, sad, pathetic, terrible, deplorable, awful, miserable.

Example usage of "woeful": "The team's woeful performance led to their defeat; it was very sad.". More examples on the page.