as in sadly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
woefully recounted the many injustices that the family had endured at the hands of the dictator
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Recent Examples of woefully
These methods, while less exacting, are also woefully undemocratic, allowing lawmakers to act independently from and against the interests of the American public.
—
Big Think, 10 Oct. 2025
Cope is woefully unprepared for the physical rigor of boot camp, but fully invested in making it to graduation.
—Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2025
This means that housing is woefully out of reach for many of my patients.
—Sarah Stella, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025
Blanket statements about boundaries are woefully inadequate because the contexts of our relationships matter.
—Margeaux Feldman, Time, 7 Oct. 2025
Daniels, the union president, said his controllers have dealt with a woefully understaffed air traffic control system for years.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Department of Justice will be appealing the ‘woefully insufficient’ sentence for the would-be assassin of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Although Beijing has outcompeted Washington in Myanmar up to this point, the junta’s woefully incompetent management of its currency and foreign reserves presents an opportunity for the United States to recalibrate its approach to the country.
—Dan Swift, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2025
A lot is unstructured, in disparate places and woefully underused.
—Munil Shah, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Big Think, 10 Oct. 2025
Cope is woefully unprepared for the physical rigor of boot camp, but fully invested in making it to graduation.
—Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2025
This means that housing is woefully out of reach for many of my patients.
—Sarah Stella, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025
Blanket statements about boundaries are woefully inadequate because the contexts of our relationships matter.
—Margeaux Feldman, Time, 7 Oct. 2025
Daniels, the union president, said his controllers have dealt with a woefully understaffed air traffic control system for years.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Department of Justice will be appealing the ‘woefully insufficient’ sentence for the would-be assassin of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Although Beijing has outcompeted Washington in Myanmar up to this point, the junta’s woefully incompetent management of its currency and foreign reserves presents an opportunity for the United States to recalibrate its approach to the country.
—Dan Swift, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2025
A lot is unstructured, in disparate places and woefully underused.
—Munil Shah, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for woefully
Adverb
-
That’s because, sadly, many bat populations have declined in recent years due to factors including habitat loss, wind turbines, and white nose syndrome (WNS), a devastating fungal disease which disrupts their natural hibernation cycles.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
21 Oct. 2025
-
But, sadly for us, relationships are a bit messier than probability would have it.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Taylor makes a persuasive case for how artists can grow, if incrementally and maybe bitterly, amid so much numbing digital noise.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Fede knows the truth, but Roberto doesn’t, and Fede has held that over Antonio ever since, with Antonio bitterly blaming himself for his wife’s death.—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
12 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Eastwood and Fitzgerald are barely in the movie long enough to register, Williams’ 30-something mom lacks any actual spirit, and Franco’s painfully earnest single dad can’t decide whether to keep his glasses on and off.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Every New York Yankees fan is painfully aware of the rough season starting shortstop Anthony Volpe had in Year 3 as a big-leaguer.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
In police bodycam footage shown in The Perfect Neighbor, Lorincz claims that Owens had been banging on her locked front door so hard that her house started shaking.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Every day, we are inundated with imagery urging us to work harder, buy more … and never stop.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Woefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/woefully. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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