Synonyms of misery
70 similar words
Another word for misery is ill-being. Other synonyms of misery are depression, sorrow, grief, distress and sadness.
Synonyms and similar words for misery
nounGreat unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe.
- dejectionA state of melancholy or depression; low spirits, the blues.
- griefEmotional pain, generally arising from misfortune, significant personal loss, bereavement, misconduct of oneself or...
- sorrowUnhappiness, woe.
- bluenessMelancholy.
- tristesse literarySadness.
- mirthlessLacking mirth; devoid of joy; sad.
- bluesA feeling of sadness or depression.
- crestfallennessThe quality of being crestfallen.
- depressionA state of mind producing serious, long-term lowering of enjoyment of life or inability to visualize a happy future...
- despondencyA feeling of depression or disheartenment.
- distressA cause of such discomfort.
- dolefulnessThe characteristic of being doleful; sadness.
- downheartednessThe characteristic of being downhearted; sadness.
- forlornnessThe state or characteristic of being forlorn; sadness; loneliness.
- ill-beingThe state of being ill, unhealthy, or unhappy; misery; miserableness.
- infelicity
- melancholiaDeep sadness or gloom; melancholy.
- melancholyGreat sadness or depression, especially of a thoughtful or introspective nature.
- mourn literarySorrow, grief.
- sadnessAn event in one's life that causes sadness.
- sorrowfulnessThe quality or state of sorrow; sadness.
- tristfulnessSadness; sorrow; melancholy.
- undelightThe condition or feeling of lacking delight; unhappiness or displeasure.
- unhappinessThe feeling of not being happy.
- woeGreat sadness or distress; a misfortune causing such sadness.
- woefareDiscontentment; sorrow; unhappiness.
- wretchednessAn unhappy state of mental or physical suffering.
- drearihead obsoleteSadness; dreariness.
- heartsore rareHeartache, misery, grief.
- mishappiness obsoleteUnhappiness; wretchedness; misery.
- prosternation obsoleteDejection; depression.
- regret obsolete
- rue archaic, dialectalSorrow; repentance; regret.
- ruth obsoleteMatter for regret or sorrow; calamity, ruin; also, occasion for regret or sorrow; (countable) an instance of this; a...
nounCause of misery; calamity; misfortune.
- adversity
- affliction
- aggrievanceOppression; hardship; grievance.
- grievanceSomething which causes grief.
- hardshipA burden, a source of difficulty that could impose a barrier.
- vexationA source of mental distress or trouble; an affliction, a woe; also, a source of annoyance or irritation; an annoyance...
- wrongAn instance of wronging someone (sometimes with possessive to indicate the wrongdoer).
nounPoverty.
- beggary
- brokenessThe characteristic of being broke; having no money.
- destitution
- impecuniosityThe state of being impecunious; impecuniousness.
- impecuniousnessThe property of being impecunious.
- indigenceExtreme poverty or destitution.
- mendicancyThe act or state of being a mendicant.
- mendicityThe state of being a beggar; mendicancy or beggary.
- needinessThe characteristic of being needy.
- pauperismThe state of being a pauper; poverty.
- penury
- poverty
- privation
- reduced circumstancesPoverty.
- straitened circumstancesReduced (financial) circumstances; poverty, austerity.
nounGreed; avarice.
- avarice
- covetiseCovetousness; excessive desire for something, especially for acquiring wealth.
- covetousnessImmoderate desire for the possession of something, especially for wealth.
- cupidityExtreme greed, especially for wealth.
- gluttonyThe vice of eating to excess.
- greedA selfish or excessive desire for more than is needed or deserved, especially of money, wealth, food, or other...
- greedinessThe state of being greedy; greed.
- Mammon
- rapaciousnessThe state of being rapacious; extreme gluttony.
- rapacityThe quality of being rapacious; voracity.
- voracityThe state of being voracious; rapacity or extreme gluttony.
- ravin archaic, literary
Meaning of misery
- noun Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe.
- noun A bodily ache or pain.
- noun Cause of misery; calamity; misfortune.
misery in other languages
Questions about synonyms of misery
- What is another word for misery?
- Misery has 70 synonyms on Word.ws, such as ill-being, depression, sorrow, grief, distress, sadness, woe and unhappiness.
- What does misery mean?
- Misery means great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: misery (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of misery.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/misery. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.