Meaning & use

misery

noun·Everyday

A state of great unhappiness, discomfort, or suffering.

See it in a sentence

Years of financial misery finally ended when she found steady work.

The flooded basement added to the family's misery during an already hard winter.

A note on using this word

Misery can describe both emotional suffering and difficult physical conditions, unlike sadness, which is purely emotional.

Words with a similar meaning

sufferinganguishwretchedness

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

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