an exclamation of grief, distress, or lamentation.
Origin
before 900;Middle Englishwo (interjection and noun), Old Englishwā (interjection) (cf. wellaway); cognate with Dutchwee,GermanWeh,Old Norsevei,Latinvae
Synonyms
1. anguish, tribulation, trial, wretchedness, melancholy. See sorrow.
Antonyms
1. joy.
Examples from the web for woe
Remember, the earthquake and tsunami brought woe and suffering in this instance to these horses.
Genius expects to get its way, and woe be unto those who disagree.
Neuroscientists and engineers in the area of implant technologies offer a similar tale of woe.
woe is me for the by-gone days when everyone read the dictionary and the world was filled with monocle-wearing, tweedy professors.
Virtually every corner of the sky is filled with some tale of woe.
And woe to any studio executive who got too close to the lion's cage.
woe to the trainee who let the pain show in his face.
Such luxury at a time of economic woe may be surprising.
They can arrive at all hours of the day or night, and woe unto to the poet who is not ready to receive them.
She points out that the oft-repeated examples of fatherless woe confound the impact of being raised by a single parent.
British Dictionary definitions for woe
woe
/wəʊ/
noun
1.
(literary) intense grief or misery
2.
(often pl) affliction or misfortune
3.
woe betide someone, misfortune will befall someone: woe betide you if you arrive late
interjection
4.
(archaic) Also woe is me. an exclamation of sorrow or distress
Word Origin
Old English wā, wǣ; related to Old Saxon, Old High German wē, Old Norse vei, Gothic wai, Latin vae, Sanskrit uvē; see wail
Word Origin and History for woe
n.
Old English wa, a common exclamation of lament in many languages (cf. Latin væ, Greek oa, German weh, Lettish wai, Old Irish fe, Welsh gwae, Armenian vay). The noun is attested from late 12c., from the interjection.