woe

n.

1. Deep distress or misery, as from grief; wretchedness. See synonyms at regret.
2. Misfortune; calamity: economic and political woes.

interj.
Used to express sorrow or dismay.

[Middle English wa, wo, from Old English wā, woe!.]

noun

1. A state of physical or mental suffering: affliction, agony, anguish, distress, hurt, misery, pain, torment, torture, wound, wretchedness. See happy/unhappy.
2. A state of prolonged anguish and privation: misery, suffering, wretchedness. See happy/unhappy.
3. A cause of suffering or harm: affliction, bane, curse, evil, ill, plague, scourge. See help/harm/harmless.

n

Definition: mental suffering
Antonyms: happiness, joy

---

IN BRIEF: n. - Intense mournfulness ; Misery resulting from affliction

Sainthood emerges when you can listen to someone's tale of woe and not respond with a description of your own. — Andrew V. Mason.

Tutor's tip: Another word that sounds like "woe" which means great sorrow, is "whoa" which is a word used to stop a horse.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - sorg, smerte, ulykke, elendighed
int. - ve!

idioms:

• woe betide    ve en
• woe to    ve en

Nederlands (Dutch)
smart, rampspoed, uitroep van smart

Français (French)
n. - chagrin (littér), malheur (hum)
int. - quel malheur!, gare (à)

idioms:

• woe betide    gare à
• woe is me!    pauvre de moi (excl)
• woe to    pauvre de

Deutsch (German)
n. - Weh, Leid, Kummer
int. - ach!

idioms:

• woe betide    wehe!
• woe is me!    weh[e] mir!
• woe to    wehe

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - βάσανο, συμφορά, δυστυχία
int. - αλί, ουαί, αλίμονο

idioms:

• woe betide    αλίμονο σε
• woe to    αλίμονο σε

Italiano (Italian)
sofferenza, disastro

idioms:

• woe betide    guai a chi
• woe to    guai a

Português (Portuguese)
n. - aflição (f), dor (f)
int. - ai!

idioms:

• woe betide    desgraça de
• woe to    desgraça para

Русский (Russian)
горе, печаль, неприятности, горе мне!, увы!

idioms:

• woe betide    будьте прокляты!, пеняйте на себя
• woe to    горе тому...

Español (Spanish)
n. - aflicción, congoja, infortunio, desgracia, miseria
int. - ay!

idioms:

• woe betide    pobre de
• woe is me!    ay de mí!, pobre de mí!
• woe to    maldito sea, pobre de

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - ve, elände
int. - ve

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
悲哀, 苦痛, 悲痛, 唉!

idioms:

• woe betide    愿某人遭殃
• woe to    愿某人遭殃

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 悲哀, 苦痛, 悲痛
int. - 唉!

idioms:

• woe betide    愿某人遭殃
• woe to    愿某人遭殃

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 비애, 고통의 불씨, 어려움
int. - 슬프다

idioms:

• woe to    ~에 화가 있으라

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 悲哀, 災難

idioms:

• woe betide    ～に災いあれ
• woe to    ～に災いあれ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) بلاء, كرب, كارثه, بليه, محنه (نداء) وأسفاه, واويلتاه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮צער, יגון, תוגה, צרה‬
int. - ‮אבוי ל-‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.