Synonyms for misery
Most common
wretchedness grief sorrow unhappiness affliction adversity destitution
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Wretchedness — great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe
wretchedness, grief, sorrow, unhappiness, torment, distress, woe, suffering, desolation, agony, anguish, misfortune, heartache, trouble, sadness, disaster, despondency, dejection, depression, melancholy, torture, melancholia
2. Affliction — cause of misery; calamity; misfortune
affliction, adversity, calamity, hardship, ill, vexation, grievance
3. Destitution — poverty
Other
Definitions
- n. 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.
- n. 2
Cause of misery; calamity; misfortune.
- n. 3
poverty.
Related words
- Word family
- miser miserable
- Phrases
- misery lit misery porn misery whip mountain misery
Forms
- Plural
- miseries → wretchednesses, griefs, sorrows, unhappinesses…
Choose the right word
We speak of the misery of the poor, the hardships of the soldier.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- grief There are five stages of grief. Stage one: denial.
- sorrow To my sorrow, my father cannot attend the meeting.
- unhappiness This created a lot of unhappiness in Yanni's life.
- wretchedness War is accompanied by wretchedness and sorrow.
- adversity We stand firm in the face of adversity, unwavering.
- affliction That which is a feast to one is an affliction to another.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| misery | rising | |
| grief | rising | |
| sorrow | rising | |
| unhappiness | rising | |
| wretchedness | steady | |
| adversity | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- ill1, woe1
- 4 letters
- pain1
- 5 letters
- grief1, agony3
- 6 letters
- sorrow2, penury3
- 7 letters
- trouble2, poverty3, torture2, sadness2, torment2, anguish2
- 8 letters
- disaster3, distress2, hardship2, calamity4, vexation
- 9 letters
- suffering3, adversity4, heartache2, grievance2, privation3, dejection, indigence
- 10 letters
- depression3, misfortune3, melancholy4, affliction3, desolation4
- 11 letters
- unhappiness4, melancholia, destitution4, despondency4
- 12 letters
- wretchedness
- 13 letters
- miserableness
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (agony3 = 3 syllables).