misery
nounUK /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹɪ/ · US /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹi/
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.
1
Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe.
- 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.1578–1579, Edmund Spenser, “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale. [...] Dedicated to the Right Honorable the Ladie Compton and Mountegle”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. Whereof the Next Page Maketh Mention, London: Imprinted for VVilliam Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Bishops head, published 1591, →OCLC:
2 more examples
- 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.2008, Charlotte Bingham, The Land of Summer:
- 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.2022 January 12, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Unhappy start to 2022”, in RAIL, number 948, page 3:
- [...] and I had a misery in my left breast and shoulder. I was hurt, but knew not how or how much.1868, John Vestal Hadley, Seven Months a Prisoner, page 15:
3
Cause of misery; calamity; misfortune.
4
poverty.
- 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: […]1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act I:
5
Archaic greed; avarice.
- Derived terms
- Fat Man's Misery, long streak of misery, Misery, misery enjoys company, misery guts, miseryguts, misery index, misery lit, misery loves company, misery porn, misery whip, mountain misery, put someone out of their misery
- Related terms
- commiserate, miser, miserable