variants
or less commonly woful
1
: full of woe : grievous
woeful prophecies
2
: involving or bringing woe
3
: lamentably bad or serious : deplorable
woeful ignorance
Examples of woeful in a Sentence
The puppy had woeful eyes.
The student's grades were woeful.
Recent Examples on the Web
Next up for Miami: a Monday night game at woeful Washington, before tougher assignments await Wednesday in Boston and Thursday at home against Memphis.
—
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2025
Maryland will make its 15th appearance and has a woeful 2-12 record.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Mar. 2025
Despite the woeful shooting start, Otay trailed just 11-2 early in the second quarter.
—The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2025
These absences, these crutches so often used to share the team’s load, were only compounded by the woeful start that Leeds made.
—Beren Cross, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for woeful
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2025
Maryland will make its 15th appearance and has a woeful 2-12 record.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Mar. 2025
Despite the woeful shooting start, Otay trailed just 11-2 early in the second quarter.
—The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2025
These absences, these crutches so often used to share the team’s load, were only compounded by the woeful start that Leeds made.
—Beren Cross, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for woeful
Cite this Entry
“Woeful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woeful. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share