How to Use woeful in a Sentence

woeful

adjective
  • The puppy had woeful eyes.
  • The student's grades were woeful.
  • This is not a woeful kind of thing.
    — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2026
  • This was a fluke, and Mike Brown’s team will go back to woeful.
    — The Enquirer, 17 Feb. 2022
  • Alas, that effort soon failed due to the woeful lack of customers.
    — Mike Masterson, Arkansas Online, 10 Apr. 2021
  • Sorry, but this is not about Scott, woeful though his season has been.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
  • Still, the Tigers' woeful bats struggled to make contact against him.
    — Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 24 Apr. 2021
  • Each episode includes the woeful word in place of another.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Each episode includes the woeful word in place of another.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Chicago missed 10 shots and had five turnovers during the woeful stretch.
    — CBS News, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Teams in the bottom five are woeful and in need of real attention.
    — Dallas News, 30 Sep. 2022
  • The woeful Texans have scored just eight points in their last three road games — two field goals and a safety.
    — Keven Lerner, sun-sentinel.com, 4 Nov. 2021
  • As woeful as their defense was, the Jets’ offense was equally bad.
    — Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 2026
  • The Cavs should win both games against the woeful Knicks (27-51).
    — Keith Pompey, Philly.com, 5 Apr. 2018
  • His woeful series on the Falcons’ first touchdown drive of the game will stand out on the film.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Or a Magic loss two days later to the woeful Pacers.
    — Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 May 2026
  • For the second time in nine days, Oregon was run out of the gym amid a woeful performance.
    — oregonlive, 24 Nov. 2021
  • Atlanta has had a woeful season and sits in penultimate place in the East with one win on the road.
    — The Athletic Staff, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
  • The Toreros were woeful behind the arc, shooting just 3 of 20.
    — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Mar. 2022
  • The big question is whether Parker will be in the dugout beyond the end of this woeful campaign.
    — Andy Jones, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
  • With this woeful season circling the drain, the Chargers will play for pride and little else down the stretch.
    — Jay Paris, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023
  • The Tigers were a woeful 1-for-7 from 3-point range after halftime.
    — Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 8 Nov. 2025
  • The session on Friday marked the end of a woeful week for the major stock indexes.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 27 Mar. 2026
  • The Knicks, of course, have been Knicks-ing in earnest since a woeful start in November.
    — Marc Stein, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2020
  • The woeful Texans showed a pulse and then some against New England, so don’t count them out.
    — Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2021
  • Las Vegas has won two straight on the road, improving their away record to a still-woeful 2-5.
    — Catena Media, al, 8 Dec. 2022
  • The Packers used a third-round draft pick on Rodgers in April to help fix their woeful return units.
    — Rob Reischel, Forbes, 8 Nov. 2021
  • The Indians didn't let a rough day get any worse by losing to the woeful Orioles.
    — Tom Withers, ajc, 15 June 2021
  • The Bears have been woeful on the road under Eberflus with a 3-16 record.
    — Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 23 Oct. 2024
  • But Sporting Kansas City are having a woeful time of it.
    — Phil Hay, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'woeful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: