adj
woeful
WOH-fuhl
adj
1
Full of sorrow or distress.
"She wore a woeful expression as she read the letter."
2
Extremely poor or inadequate.
"The team put in a woeful performance, losing five-nil."
How to Use Woeful
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither genuinely sorrowful, or (more commonly today) shockingly bad or inadequate.
Common pairings
woeful performance
woeful lack of
a woeful state
Word Forms
woefuller comparative, woefullest superlative
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Etymology
From Middle English woful, formed from woe plus -ful.