woe

W4O1E1
UK/wəʊ/US/woʊ/

noun

Great sadness or distress; a misfortune causing such sadness.

“Oh, woe is me!”

Similar
balegriefsorrowmiserybluenesstristessemirthlessnessblues
Opposite
benefitboonfortunejoylaugh
OriginMiddle English wo ← Old English wā ← Proto-West Germanic *wai →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

woe1

nounwoe (countable and uncountable, plural woes)

plural woes

  1. countableuncountableGreat sadness or distress; a misfortune causing such sadness.

    Oh, woe is me!

    4 more examples

    Thus saying, from her side the fatal key, / Sad instrument of all our woe, she took.

    1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC

    Soon as thy letters trembling I unclose / That well-known name awakens all my woes.

    1717, Alexander Pope, “Eloisa to Abelard”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717, →OCLC

    But if there was a competition between a ſick family and a new broach, the broach was ſure to carry the day. This would not have been the caſe, had they been habituated to viſit themſelves the abodes of penury and woe.

    1808, [Hannah More], chapter VI, in Cœlebs in Search of a Wife. […], volume I, London: […] [Strahan and Preston] for T[homas] Cadell and W[illiam] Davies, […], →OCLC, pages 68–69

    The Friday night rains which wrecked families in Kurabarahalli saw all the three major political parties making a beeline to express their condolences, listen to their woes and provide compensation in the hope of garnering their goodwill ahead of the 2018 assembly elections.

    October 14 2017, Sandeep Moudgal, The Times of India, Rains devastate families, political parties make beeline to apply balm on open wounds

    Synonyms: bale, grief, sorrow, misery, blueness, tristesse, mirthlessness, blues

  2. countableuncountableCalamity, trouble.

    Don't let the little woes of life harm you / Let the joy in the life you lead / Let it charm you / Let it charm you now

    1980, Chaka Khan, “Nothing's Gonna Take You Away”, in Naughty (Chaka Khan album)
    1 more example

    And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 8:13

    Synonyms: adversity, adversity, apocalypse, calamity, catastrophe, disaster, misery, qualm

  3. countableuncountableA curse; a malediction.

    Can there be a woe or curse in all the stores of vengeance equal to the malignity of such a practice?

    1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London
adjectivewoe (comparative more woe, superlative most woe)

comparative more woe · superlative most woe

  1. obsoleteWoeful; sorrowful

    Prospero: I am woe for't, Sir.

    1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 17
    3 more examples

    hys clerk was wo to do þat dede

    1303, Robert of Brunne, Handlyng synne

    And looking vp, when as his shield he lakt, / And sword saw not, he wexed wondrous woe

    1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 53

    But long they waited, and longer still, / With doubt and muckle pain, / But woe were the hearts of his brethren, / For he came not back again.

    1890, Joseph Jacobs, “Childe Rowland”, in English Fairy Tales, page 118

    Synonyms: miserable, atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out, chapfallen

interjection
  1. archaicAn exclamation of grief.

    Miranda: O woe, the day.

    1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 2

woe2

nounwoe (plural woes)

plural woes

  1. slangBaltimore; African-American Vernacular; Baltimore; African-American VernacularA close friend; a nigga, homie or bro.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounGreat sadness or distress; a misfortune causing such sadness.

Similar
balegriefsorrowmiserybluenesstristessemirthlessnessbluescrestfallennessdejectiondepressiondespondencydistressdolefulnessdownheartednessdreariheadforlornnessgriefheartsoreill-being

nounCalamity, trouble.

Similar
adversityadversityapocalypsecalamitycatastrophedisastermiseryqualm

adjectiveWoeful; sorrowful

Similar
miserableatrabiliaryatrabiliousblithelessdispiritedbluebummed outchapfallencheerlesschopfallencrestfallencut updampdejecteddepresseddespondentdisgruntleddisconsolatedishearteneddismal
Similar
afflictionaggrievancegrievancehardshipruthsadnessundelightvexationwrong
Opposite
benefitboonfortunejoylaughtreat
Broader
accidentdisastermisdeedtest
Narrower
black daydark cloudinjusticeregretsob story
Similar
afflictionaggrievancedistressgriefgrievancehardshipmiseryruthsadnesssorrowundelightvexationwrong
Opposite
benefitboonfortunejoylaughtreat
Broader
accidentdisastermisdeedtest
Narrower
black daydark cloudinjusticeregretsob story

More synonyms by meaning

nounmisery resulting from affliction

Similar
suffering
Broader
miserywretchednessmiserableness

nounintense mournfulness

Similar
woefulness
Broader
mournfulnesssorrowfulnessruthfulness
Also see
aggrievancedisasterdistressgloominggriefgrievancehardshipmiseryruthsadsadnesssorrowsufferingtormentundelightvexationwoefulwoefulness

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wáy“oh!; ah!; woe!; alas!”
  2. Proto-Germanic*wai“woe!”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*wai
  4. Old Englishwā
  5. Middle Englishwo
  6. Englishwoe

From Middle English wo, woo, from Old English wā, wǣ, from Proto-West Germanic *wai (interjection), from Proto-Germanic *wai (“woe!”, interjection), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wáy (“oh!; ah!; woe!; alas!”, interjection). Cognates Cognate with Scots wae (“woe”), Cimbrian bèa (“woe!”), Dutch wee (“nauseating”), German Weh, Wehe (“misery, woe; pain”), Yiddish וויי (vey, “pain; woe”), Danish, Norwegian Nynorsk, Norwegian Bokmål, and Swedish ve (“woe”), Icelandic væl (“cry, wail”), væla (“to cry, wail; to complain”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹 (wai, “woe!”); also Cornish gew, go (“woe!”), Welsh gwae (“misery, woe”), Catalan, Italian, and Portuguese guai (“woe!”), Ladino guay, גואי (“woe”), Latin vae (“woe”), Romanian vai (“woe”), Spanish guay (“way”), Ancient Greek οὐαί (ouaí, “woe!”), Albanian vaj (“woe!”), Latvian vai (“oh!”), Bulgarian уви́ (uví, “alas”), Russian увы́ (uvý, “alas!”), Serbo-Croatian авај, avaj (“alas!”), Armenian վայ (vay, “sorrow, woe”), Persian وای (vây, “woe”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek οὐαί, φεῦ
  • οὐαί (ouaí)exclamation of grief
  • φεῦ (pheû)exclamation of grief
Arabic حَزَن, وَيْل
  • حَزَن (ḥazan)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • وَيْل (wayl)exclamation of grief
Bulgarian беда, злочестие
  • беда (beda)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • злочестие (zločestie)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • скръб (skrăb)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
Chinese Mandarin 悲痛, 悲慟 /悲恸
  • 悲痛 (bēitòng)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • 悲慟 /悲恸 (bēitòng)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • 悲恸 (bēitòng)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • 唉 (āi)exclamation of grief
Czech trápení, strast
  • trápenígrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • strastgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • bědagrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • hořegrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • bědaexclamation of grief
Dutch droefheid, lijden
  • droefheidgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • lijdengrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • ellendegrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • ongelukgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
Esperanto ve
  • veexclamation of grief
Finnish suru, tuska
  • surugrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • tuskagrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • voiexclamation of grief
French tristesse, douleur
  • tristessegrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • douleurgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • misèregrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • malheurgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • hélasexclamation of grief
German Weh, Jammer
  • Wehgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • Jammergrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • Kummergrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • Leidgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • wehexclamation of grief
Greek θλίψη, συμφορά
  • θλίψη (thlípsi)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • συμφορά (symforá)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • ουαί (ouaí)exclamation of grief
  • φευ (fef)exclamation of grief
Hebrew אבוי, צער
  • אבוי (avoy)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • צער (tsa'ar)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • יגון (yagon)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • אוֹי (oy)exclamation of grief
  • אֲהָהּ (aháh)exclamation of grief
  • וַי (vay)exclamation of grief
Indonesian celaka
  • celakagrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
Italian dolore, disgrazia
  • doloregrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • disgraziagrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • guaiogrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • ahimèexclamation of grief
  • ohimèexclamation of grief
Japanese ああ, あたら
  • ああ (ā)exclamation of grief
  • あたら (atara)exclamation of grief
Latin dolor, luctus
  • dolorgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • luctusgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • vaeexclamation of grief
  • heuexclamation of grief
  • ēheuexclamation of grief
Malay alahai, aduh
  • alahaiexclamation of grief
  • aduhexclamation of grief
  • aduhaiexclamation of grief
Māori aitu
  • aitugrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
Norwegian Bokmål sorg, ve
  • sorggrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • vegrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
Persian وای
  • وای (vây)exclamation of grief
Polish nieszczęście, żałość
  • nieszczęściegrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • żałośćgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • cierpieniegrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • niedolagrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • biadaexclamation of grief
Portuguese desgraça, infelicidade
  • desgraçagrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • infelicidadegrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • mágoagrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
Punjabi ਹਾਏ
  • ਹਾਏ (hāē)exclamation of grief
Romanian durere, suferință
  • dureregrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • suferințăgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • mâhniregrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • nenorociregrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • vaiexclamation of grief
Russian печа́ль, грусть
  • печа́ль (pečálʹ)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • грусть (grustʹ)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • го́ре (góre)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • го́ре (góre)exclamation of grief
Scottish Gaelic dòlas, truaighe
  • dòlasgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • truaighegrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • sgadgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
Spanish pena, infortunio
  • penagrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • infortuniogrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • aygrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • congojagrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • malgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • ayexclamation of grief
Swedish sorg, ve
  • sorggrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • vegrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
Turkish üzüntü, sıkıntı
  • üzüntügrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • sıkıntıgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • kaygıgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • ur dertgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • gamgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • kedergrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • teessürgrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
  • yazıkexclamation of grief
Urdu ہائے
  • ہائے (hā'yē)exclamation of grief
Vietnamese khốn
  • khốngrief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity
Yiddish וויי
  • וויי (vey)grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with woe

todonosogoknowshowolowbelowcoproagothoughohalthoughflowpojoemosnowhellorowgrow
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

whoa (wine–whine merger)whoa (wine–whine merger)whoa (wine–whine merger)

Anagrams

owe
Cite this entry
APA

woe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/woe

MLA

“woe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/woe. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “woe,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/woe.

Source: woe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.