woefully

adverb

Definition of woefullynext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of woefully Blanche ultimately did meet with victims shortly after Tillis made his demand, but the victims have decried that meeting as being woefully insufficient. — Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 The subject matter feels woefully modern, culminating in Brian trying to convince a literal mob of his progressive credentials. — Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 25 July 2026 According to the report, Maryland has the second-worst economy in the entire United States and ranks woefully low in the cost of doing business and the overall cost of living. — Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 18 July 2026 Advertisement By last fall, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had concluded that its conventional public diplomacy efforts—known in Israel as hasbara—were woefully insufficient. — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 14 July 2026 And yet, the league still seems woefully unprepared for everything that comes with her. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026 While America was built to cope with high temperatures, vast areas of Europe remain woefully unprepared. — Taco Engelaar, Fortune, 30 June 2026 Strong teachers who adeptly exploit group dynamics may be essential to academic excellence, but this approach is woefully hard to scale. — Mike Goldstein, The Atlantic, 25 June 2026 The economics of the NBA, his team and their competitors, though, could be setting him up to be woefully undercompensated again. — Dan Woike, New York Times, 15 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for woefully
  1. sadly
  2. bitterly
  3. sorrowfully
  4. painfully
  5. hard
Adverb
  • Now the area was ablaze; Aragüés found out not long ago that, sadly, the memorial had burned.
    — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Despite the heavy hitters attached, momentum has since stalled on the sci-fi project and it's sadly been shelved for the immediate future.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of sadly
Adverb
  • There were riots, protests and a bitterly divisive war in Vietnam that looked intractable.
    — Steven Johnson, Washington Post, 14 July 2026
  • With a goalkeeping howler and a red card, Marcelo Bielsa’s side self-imploded at the end of a bitterly disappointing tournament.
    — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 3 July 2026
Definition of bitterly
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
Definition of sorrowfully
Adverb
  • In applications like video calls, Xittel and Starlink’s round-trip signal delays became painfully obvious.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2026
  • Besides the hike in energy use and cost, being home more often has led to more people becoming painfully aware of how poorly their systems run.
    — Alora Bopray, USA Today, 30 July 2026
Definition of painfully
Adverb
  • Russia has clamped down hard on dissent since going to war in Ukraine in 2022.
    — Reuters, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Analysts note that agricultural commodities such as cocoa, coffee and wheat are expected to be among the asset classes hardest hit by heatwaves.
    — , CNBC, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of hard

Browse Nearby Words

woeful
woefully
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Cite this Entry

“Woefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/woefully. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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