as in sadly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
woefully recounted the many injustices that the family had endured at the hands of the dictator
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Recent Examples of woefully
Not all wavelengths have received equal attention, however, and some wavelengths have been woefully neglected in recent years.
—
Big Think, 11 Mar. 2026
That means people covered by other insurers must find mental health treatment elsewhere, a prospect that’s difficult in a county that, by most accounts, is woefully underserved to meet a fast-growing need for mental health care.
—Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 11 Mar. 2026
The song is one of many that addresses a period where Musgraves was sometimes blissfully and sometimes woefully romantically unattached.
—Melinda Newman, Billboard, 11 Mar. 2026
The tie was decided when stationary West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola saved Dango Ouattara’s woefully taken Panenka effort in the shootout.
—ABC News, 9 Mar. 2026
Thus far, that effort is falling woefully short.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026
Yet such standards are missing or woefully inadequate.
—Parmy Olson, Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2026
His birdie chances on the 17th and 18th were woefully short on greens where short putts can be scary.
—CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
His birdie chances on the 17th and 18th were woefully short on greens where short putts can be scary.
—Dallas Morning News, 22 Feb. 2026
Big Think, 11 Mar. 2026
That means people covered by other insurers must find mental health treatment elsewhere, a prospect that’s difficult in a county that, by most accounts, is woefully underserved to meet a fast-growing need for mental health care.
—Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 11 Mar. 2026
The song is one of many that addresses a period where Musgraves was sometimes blissfully and sometimes woefully romantically unattached.
—Melinda Newman, Billboard, 11 Mar. 2026
The tie was decided when stationary West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola saved Dango Ouattara’s woefully taken Panenka effort in the shootout.
—ABC News, 9 Mar. 2026
Thus far, that effort is falling woefully short.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026
Yet such standards are missing or woefully inadequate.
—Parmy Olson, Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2026
His birdie chances on the 17th and 18th were woefully short on greens where short putts can be scary.
—CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
His birdie chances on the 17th and 18th were woefully short on greens where short putts can be scary.
—Dallas Morning News, 22 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for woefully
Adverb
-
The veteran actor has four Oscar nominations but has sadly gone 0 for 4, losing Best Supporting Actor for Platoon (1986), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), and The Florida Project (2017), and Best Actor for At Eternity's Gate (2018).—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Mar. 2026
-
His abhorrent behavior is sadly too common across the restaurant industry, from the finest dining to the humblest street stalls.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
The bitterly cold wind chills will linger through the morning commute, then gradually improve this afternoon as winds ease and temperatures climb.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Democrats and Republicans clashed bitterly over the issues last week as hundreds of concerned parents and advocates traveled to the state Capitol complex to oppose the measures in front of three different committees on the same day.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
15 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Without a pipeline, as Europeans learned painfully when the Nord Stream pipeline was sabotaged, replacing gas in a tight market is very difficult.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
12 Mar. 2026
-
By then Liverpool had fallen behind in painfully avoidable fashion from a corner.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
11 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Wahlin said that there’s a difference between making a mistake and making a hard-working mistake.—
Dean Spiros,
Twin Cities,
15 Mar. 2026
-
England came into the game under fire for its kick-heavy approach, but ran hard at France and was constantly rewarded.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Woefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/woefully. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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