Woe

Pronunciation: /woʊ/

Definitions of woe

noun great sorrow or distress

Example Sentences

A1 She felt great woe when her favorite toy broke.

A2 The villagers expressed their woe over the loss of their crops.

B1 The company faced financial woe due to poor decision-making.

B2 Despite his woe, he remained determined to overcome the challenges.

C1 The artist's woe at not being recognized for her talent was palpable.

C2 The novel depicted the protagonist's deep sense of woe and despair throughout the story.

interjection used to express grief, regret, or distress

Example Sentences

A1 Woe! I dropped my pencil.

A2 Woe! I forgot my lunch at home.

B1 Woe! I missed the bus to work.

B2 Woe! I accidentally deleted an important file.

C1 Woe! I received a parking ticket on top of getting a flat tire.

C2 Woe! I lost my passport while traveling abroad.

Examples of woe in a Sentence

formal The company was facing financial woe due to poor decision-making.

informal I heard about your breakup, that's some serious woe.

slang She's been going through some major woe lately.

figurative The dark clouds of woe seemed to follow him wherever he went.

Grammatical Forms of woe

• past tense: woed
• plural: woes
• comparative: more woe
• superlative: most woe
• present tense: woes
• future tense: will woe
• perfect tense: have woe
• continuous tense: is woeing
• singular: woe
• positive degree: woe
• infinitive: to woe
• gerund: woeing
• participle: woed

Origin and Evolution of woe

First Known Use: 1250 year

Language of Origin: Old English

Story behind the word: The word 'woe' originated from Old English 'wā', which was derived from Proto-Germanic 'wai', meaning 'woe, sorrow, grief'.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'woe' has retained its original meaning of deep sorrow or distress, but its usage has expanded to include a broader range of negative emotions or difficult situations.