Meaning & use

woefully

adverb·Academic

To a regrettably great degree, or in a manner that expresses deep sorrow or misfortune.

See it in a sentence

The team was woefully unprepared for the sudden change in weather during the race.

She sighed woefully, describing how little progress the negotiations had actually made.

A note on using this word

Woefully most commonly intensifies a negative adjective, as in woefully inadequate or woefully underfunded, rather than describing literal crying.

Words with a similar meaning

regrettablylamentablysorrowfully

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

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “woefully”, then compare your use with the examples above.

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