misery
/ˈmɪz(ə)ɹi/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.89 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Ever since his wife left him you can see the misery on his face."
- "For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne."
- "It was not just the confusion that unhappiness brings, it was not just the loneliness, it was the despair that accompanies all those emotions that turns unhappiness into utter misery."
- "Then, in January, a creeping tsunami of train cancellations, triggered by major staff absences as a result of the aggressive transmissibility of Omicron, heaped further misery on rail users."
- "[...] and I had a misery in my left breast and shoulder. I was hurt, but knew not how or how much."
- "The Widdow that hath but a pan of braſſe, […] Muſt pay her Landlord many a groat, Or twil be puld out of her throat: […] The rich haue all, the poore liue in miſerie: […]"
Etymology
From Middle English miserie, from Old French miserie (modern: misère), from Latin miseria, from miser, equivalent to miser + -y. Doublet of misère and mizeria.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹi/
- British English: /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹɪ/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- British usage
- American usage
- Archaic
- Derogatory
- Humorous
- Slang