Meaning of woe in English

Audience members, those waiting to present their own tales of woe, listen avidly, sometimes expressing sympathy or offering unsolicited suggestions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Letters poured in from provincial towns and rural communities that faced comparable, if not worse, infrastructure woes.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Throughout the ages, political entrepreneurs have sought, often with considerable success, to deflect blame for their country's woes to powerless groups.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Could the mass recitation of woe also be understood as a form of self-exculpation?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is doomed to wander the world - oh, woe is me!

From the Cambridge English Corpus

After a point, the tale of woe becomes repetitive.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It was to serve as a therapeutic remedy for the woes he and his society were suffering.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Criticism encompasses operating and administrative flaws, financial woes and so on but the overall benefits of the railways are not questioned.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Political intrusion compounded the military's woes.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Moreover, just as recipients exhibit an orientation toward making sure that the prosperity of others is properly recognized, so, too, they display a concern for others' woes.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The language is straightforward and colloquial; the lectures are filled with references to local beliefs, popular hadiths and the concrete woes of the rural poor, such as dowry and security.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A woe-begone figure unwilling or unable to earn an ordinary livelihood is picking up unconsidered trifles from dustbins in the street.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

Each one is a tragic and pitiful tale of woe.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

If world trade slackens in 1970—and there is some indication that it will—woe betide us.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

But behind that air of lassitude there is always the very keenest intellect, and woe betide anybody who interrupts him.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

See all examples of woe

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of woe?