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View synonyms for woe

woe

[ woh ]

noun

  1. profound grief or distress:

    His woe at the terrible news was almost beyond description.

    Synonyms: wretchedness, melancholy, trial, tribulation, anguish

    Antonyms: joy

  2. an affliction or cause of distress:

    She suffered a fall, among her other woes.



interjection

  1. an exclamation of grief, distress, or lamentation.

woe

/ wəʊ /

noun

  1. literary.
    intense grief or misery
  2. often plural affliction or misfortune
  3. woe betide someone
    misfortune will befall someone

    woe betide you if you arrive late

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


interjection

  1. archaic.
    Alsowoe is me an exclamation of sorrow or distress
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of woe1

First recorded before 900; Middle English wo (interjection and noun), Old English (interjection) ( wellaway ); cognate with Dutch wee, German Weh, Old Norse vei; akin to Latin vae
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Word History and Origins

Origin of woe1

Old English wā, wǣ; related to Old Saxon, Old High German wē, Old Norse vei, Gothic wai, Latin vae, Sanskrit uvē; see wail
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. woe betide, trouble or punishment will come upon (someone) if they take the specified action: Also woe to.

    Woe betide anybody who laughed or continued to talk while he was playing.

    Rules about court reporting are strict, and woe betide those who fall foul of them.

    Woe to the pedestrian who gets in a cyclist's way.

  2. woe is me, (used to lament one's own distress, affliction, or trouble, sometimes humorously):

    Woe is me, for I am ruined!

    Please don't get the wrong impression, thinking this is a “woe is me” story.

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Synonym Study

See sorrow.
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Example Sentences

Woe be to her if another candidate with the appeal of an ice cream truck happens to drive by.

But instead of a witty pop song, we have yet more woe-is-me-feel-my-pain from an overpaid, over-cosseted celebrity.

Woe unto the politicians and parties that fail to grok this, as they will face only bigger and bigger losses in market share.

Woe to you who have fallen away from the righteousness of your ancestors!

As the Blizzard of 2014 moves out to sea, it's left a wake of wintery woe behind.

He must be The saltest fish that swims the sea.And, oh!He has a secret woe!

Woe to the man that first did teach the cursed steel to bite in his own flesh, and make way to the living spirit.

A woe is pronounced against sinners: the army of God shall send against them.

Woe to you that rise up early in the morning to follow drunkenness, and to drink in the evening, to be inflamed with wine.

"They look ever on woe;" and he laid the baby back on Ramona's breast, and stood gazing sadly at her.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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