misery Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune
    wretchedness; miserableness.
    • the misery and wretchedness of those slums is intolerable
  2. noun a feeling of intense unhappiness
    • she was exhausted by her misery and grief

WordNet

Mi"ser*y noun
Etymology
OE. miserie, L. miseria, fr. miser wretched: cf. F. misère, OF. also, miserie.
Wordforms
plural Miseries
Definitions
  1. Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe. Chaucer.
    Destruction and misery are in their ways. Rom. iii. 16.
  2. Cause of misery; calamity; misfortune.
    When we our betters see bearing our woes, We scarcely think our miseries our foes. Shak.
  3. Covetousness; niggardliness; avarice. Obs. Syn. -- Wretchedness; torture; agony; torment; anguish; distress; calamity; misfortune.

Webster 1913