misery
Americannoun
plural
miseries-
wretchedness of condition or circumstances.
- Synonyms:
- trial, tribulation, suffering
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distress or suffering caused by need, privation, or poverty.
-
great mental or emotional distress; extreme unhappiness.
- Synonyms:
- desolation, torment, woe, anguish, grief
- Antonyms:
- happiness
-
a cause or source of distress.
-
Older Use.
-
a pain.
a misery in my left side.
-
Often miseries. a case or period of despondency or gloom.
-
noun
-
intense unhappiness, discomfort, or suffering; wretchedness
-
a cause of such unhappiness, discomfort, etc
-
squalid or poverty-stricken conditions
-
informal a person who is habitually depressed
he is such a misery
-
dialect a pain or ailment
Related Words
See sorrow.
Etymology
Origin of misery
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English miserie, from Latin miseria, equivalent to miser “wretched” + -ia -y 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her experiences are almost mythic, like peering through the looking glass at a time when misery could actively coexist with unbridled bliss.
From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026
Tuesday’s loss only compounded the misery of a second straight frustrating season, in all too familiar fashion.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026
But tragedy, an exploration of human misery, dates back to the Greeks and expresses agonies as old as our species.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
The penalty was costly and Scotland and Russell took full advantage, with their misery being compounded by the nature of George Turner's match-winning try.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026
But she has no time to wade in her own misery.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
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.
