misery

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misery

tribulation, suffering; grief, anguish, torment, desolation: the misery of abject poverty

Not to be confused with:

miserly – like a miser; cheap, stingy, penurious: He is not miserly with his gifts.

mis·er·y

(mĭz′ə-rē)

n. pl. mis·er·ies

a. The state of suffering and want as a result of physical circumstances or extreme poverty.

b. Mental or emotional unhappiness or distress: "Our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances" (Martha Washington).

2. A cause or source of suffering: the miseries of adolescence.

3. Informal A physical ache or ailment.

[Middle English miserie, from Old French, from Latin miseria, from miser, wretched.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

misery

(ˈmɪzərɪ)

n, pl -eries

1. intense unhappiness, discomfort, or suffering; wretchedness

2. a cause of such unhappiness, discomfort, etc

3. squalid or poverty-stricken conditions

4. informal Brit a person who is habitually depressed: he is such a misery.

5. dialect a pain or ailment

[C14: via Anglo-Norman from Latin miseria, from miser wretched]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mis•er•y

(ˈmɪz ə ri)

n., pl. -er•ies.

1. wretchedness of condition or circumstances.

2. suffering caused by privation or poverty.

3. great mental or emotional distress; extreme unhappiness.

4. a source of distress.

[1325–75; < Latin miseria=miser wretched + -ia -y³]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	misery - a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune; "the misery and wretchedness of those slums is intolerable" miserableness, wretchedness ill-being - lack of prosperity or happiness or health concentration camp - a situation characterized by crowding and extremely harsh conditions living death - a state of constant misery woe, suffering - misery resulting from affliction
	2.	misery - a feeling of intense unhappiness; "she was exhausted by her misery and grief" sadness, unhappiness - emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being

misery

noun

1. unhappiness, distress, despair, grief, suffering, depression, torture, agony, gloom, sadness, discomfort, torment, hardship, sorrow, woe, anguish, melancholy, desolation, wretchedness All that money brought nothing but misery.
unhappiness ease, pleasure, comfort, joy, happiness, enjoyment, contentment

2. poverty, want, need, squalor, privation, penury, destitution, wretchedness, sordidness, indigence An elite profited from the misery of the poor.
poverty luxury

3. (Brit. informal) moaner, pessimist, killjoy, spoilsport, grouch (informal), prophet of doom, wet blanket (informal), sourpuss (informal), wowser (Austral. & N.Z. slang) I'm not such a misery now. I've got things sorted out a bit.

4. misfortune, trouble, trial, disaster, load, burden, curse, ordeal, hardship, catastrophe, sorrow, woe, calamity, affliction, tribulation, bitter pill (informal) There is no point dwelling on the miseries of the past.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

misery

noun

1. A state of prolonged anguish and privation:

suffering, woe, wretchedness.

2. A state of physical or mental suffering:

affliction, agony, anguish, distress, hurt, pain, torment, torture, woe, wound, wretchedness.

3. Informal. A sensation of physical discomfort occurring as the result of disease or injury:

ache, pain, pang, prick, prickle, smart, soreness, stab, sting, stitch, throe, twinge.

Translations

Spanish / Español

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miseria pena sufrimiento tristeza desdicha

misery

[ˈmɪzərɪ] N

1. (= sadness) → tristeza f, pena f

2. (= poverty) → miseria f, pobreza f
to live in misery → vivir en la miseria

3. (= misfortune) → desgracia f
a life of misery → una vida desgraciada

4. (= suffering) → sufrimiento m, dolor m
to put an animal out of its misery → rematar a un animal (para que no sufra)
to put sb out of his/her misery (fig) → sacar a algn de la incertidumbre
to make sb's life a misery → amargar la vida a algn

5. (Brit) (= person) → aguafiestas mf inv

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

misery

(ˈmizəri) – plural ˈmiseries – noun

(something that causes) unhappiness. the misery of the fatherless children; Forget your miseries and come out with me!desgracia, desdicha, tristeza, miseria

misery

→ sufrimiento

misery

n. sufrimiento, pena; desesperación; miseria.

misery

n miseria

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

For, not to hint of this: that it is an inference from certain canonic teachings, that while some natural enjoyments here shall have no children born to them for the other world, but, on the contrary, shall be followed by the joy-childlessness of all hell's despair; whereas, some guilty mortal miseries shall still fertilely beget to themselves an eternally progressive progeny of griefs beyond the grave; not at all to hint of this, there still seems an inequality in the deeper analysis of the thing.

View in context

"Oh, sir!" answered Tom, "your poor gamekeeper, with all his large family, ever since your discarding him, have been perishing with all the miseries of cold and hunger: I could not bear to see these poor wretches naked and starving, and at the same time know myself to have been the occasion of all their sufferings.

View in context

The miseries of citizens are further compounded by long hours of power failures.