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
Synonyms
Examples of woeful in a Sentence
The puppy had woeful eyes.
The student's grades were woeful.
Recent Examples on the Web
The Bears have been woeful on the road under Eberflus with a 3-16 record.
—
Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 23 Oct. 2024
Until recently there has been a woeful lack of focus in the US on similar pedestrian protection from automobiles.
—Carlton Reid, WIRED, 15 Oct. 2024
That Ryan pitched himself into the position of being a possible solution for the Dodgers in less than a handful of major-league starts is a statement about how woeful the injury issues have been and how promising Ryan’s arsenal makes him.
—Fabian Ardaya, The Athletic, 10 Aug. 2024
Related Articles Ducks’ woeful homestand continues with loss to Wild
Ducks shake things up in search of scoring
Yet the Golden Knights’ title defense was far from seamless and included losses in three of four meetings with the Ducks last season, all by multiple goals.
—Andrew Knoll, Orange County Register, 12 Nov. 2024
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.
Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 23 Oct. 2024
Until recently there has been a woeful lack of focus in the US on similar pedestrian protection from automobiles.
—Carlton Reid, WIRED, 15 Oct. 2024
That Ryan pitched himself into the position of being a possible solution for the Dodgers in less than a handful of major-league starts is a statement about how woeful the injury issues have been and how promising Ryan’s arsenal makes him.
—Fabian Ardaya, The Athletic, 10 Aug. 2024
Related Articles Ducks’ woeful homestand continues with loss to Wild
Ducks shake things up in search of scoring
Yet the Golden Knights’ title defense was far from seamless and included losses in three of four meetings with the Ducks last season, all by multiple goals.
—Andrew Knoll, Orange County Register, 12 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for woeful
Dictionary Entries Near woeful
Cite this Entry
“Woeful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woeful. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share