woeful
/'wouful/ Cách viết khác : (woesome) /'wousəm/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Affected by or expressing deep sorrow, grief, or misery: Describes a state of being full of woe or intense sadness.
- Extremely bad, deplorable, or wretched: Describes something of very poor quality, condition, or character; lamentably bad.
Usage and Examples
Expressing deep sorrow or grief:
- She gave a woeful sigh as she read the sad news.
- The dog's woeful eyes seemed to understand its owner's grief.
Describing something as extremely bad or deplorable:
- The team's performance was woeful; they lost by a huge margin.
- The government's woeful lack of planning led to a crisis.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
"woeful ignorance": profound and regrettable lack of knowledge.
- His woeful ignorance of basic history was surprising.
"a woeful tale": a story that is deeply sad or mournful.
- The old sailor told a woeful tale of shipwreck and loss.
Variants and Related Words
Woefully (adverb): in a manner expressing woe or to a deplorably bad degree.
- He sighed woefully. / The project was woefully underfunded.
Woe (noun): great sorrow or distress; troubles or misfortunes.
- A tale of woe.
Synonyms
- Sorrowful: full of or feeling sorrow.
- Mournful: expressing sadness or grief.
- Deplorable: deserving strong condemnation; shockingly bad.
- Lamentable: regrettable; unfortunate.
Antonyms
- Joyful: feeling or expressing great happiness.
- Excellent: extremely good; outstanding.
Idioms and Fixed Phrases
- "a woeful state": a condition that is both pitiful and terribly bad.
- After the storm, the village was in a woeful state.
Adjective
- of very poor quality or condition
- deplorable housing conditions in the inner city
- woeful treatment of the accused
- woeful errors of judgment
- affected by or full of grief or woe
- his sorrow...made him look...haggard and...woebegone- George du Maurier