misery

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French miserie (modern: misère), from Latin miseria, from miser.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹɪ/
• enPR: mĭzʹə-rē, mĭzʹrē, IPA^(key): /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹi/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mis‧ery

Noun

misery (countable and uncountable, plural miseries)

1. Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe.

   Ever since his wife left him you can see the misery on his face.

   • 2008, Charlotte Bingham, The Land of Summer‎^[1]:

     It was not just the confusion that unhappiness brings, it was not just the loneliness, it was the despair that accompanies all those emotions that turns unhappiness into utter misery.

   • 1578–1579, Edmund Spenser, “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale. [...] Dedicated to the Right Honorable the Ladie Compton and Mountegle”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. Whereof the Next Page Maketh Mention‎^[2], London: Imprinted for VVilliam Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Bishops head, published 1591, →OCLC:

     For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne.

2. (US and UK, dialects) A bodily ache or pain.
   • 1868, John Vestal Hadley, Seven Months a Prisoner, page 15:

     [...] and I had a misery in my left breast and shoulder. I was hurt, but knew not how or how much.

3. Cause of misery; calamity; misfortune.
4. (Extreme) poverty.
5. (archaic) greed; avarice.

Synonyms

• see Thesaurus:greed

Derived terms

• put out of one's misery

Related terms

• commiserate
• miser
• miserable

Translations

great unhappiness

• Belarusian: няшчасце f (njaščascje), бяда́ f (bjadá), го́ра n (hóra)
• Bulgarian: неща́стие (bg) n (neštástie), страда́ние (bg) n (stradánie)
• Catalan: misèria (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 苦難／苦难 (zh) (kǔnàn), 苦难 (zh) (kǔnàn), 痛苦 (zh) (tòngkǔ), 悲慘／悲惨 (zh) (bēicǎn), 悲惨 (zh) (bēicǎn), 不幸 (zh) (bùxìng), 苦痛 (zh) (kǔtòng)

• Czech: neštěstí (cs) n, bída (cs) f
• Danish: elendighed
• Dutch: ellende (nl) f
• Esperanto: mizero (eo)
• Finnish: kärsimys (fi), surkeus (fi), kurjuus (fi), kurjuus (fi), surkeus (fi)
• French: misère (fr)
• Galician: laceira f, miseria f
• Georgian: უბედურება (ubedureba), წვალება (c̣valeba), წამება (c̣ameba), ტანჯვა (ṭanǯva), გასაჭირი (gasač̣iri), გაჭირვება (gač̣irveba)
• German: Misere (de) f, Elend (de) n
• Greek: αθλιότης f (athliótis)

  Ancient: πῆμα n (pêma) (Epic)

• Hausa: uƙuba
• Ido: mizero (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: aimléis f, galar (ga) m
• Italian: miseria (it)
• Japanese: 悲惨 (ja) (ひさん, hisan), 苦痛 (ja) (くつう, kutsū), 惨めさ (みじめさ, mijimesa)
• Latin: miseria f
• Luxembourgish: Misär m
• Macedonian: несре́ќа f (nesréḱa)
• Polish: nieszczęście (pl) n, męka (pl) f
• Portuguese: miséria (pt)
• Romanian: mizerie (ro) f
• Russian: несча́стье (ru) n (nesčástʹje), го́ре (ru) n (góre), му́ка (ru) f (múka), страда́ние (ru) n (stradánije), беда́ (ru) f (bedá)
• Sanskrit: दुःख (sa) n (duḥkha)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: јад m, беда f

  Roman: jad (sh) m, beda (sh) f

• Slovak: nešťastie n, bieda f
• Slovene: beda f, nesreča (sl) f
• Spanish: miseria (es) f, sinvivir
• Swedish: misär (sv), elände (sv) n
• Ukrainian: неща́стя (uk) n (neščástja), біда́ (uk) f (bidá), го́ре n (hóre)

cause of misery, misfortune

• Finnish: onnettomuus (fi), kova onni
• Italian: accidente (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: miséria (pt) f, desgraça (pt) f
• Russian: невзго́ды (ru) f pl (nevzgódy)

poverty

• Belarusian: гале́ча f (haljéča)
• Finnish: kurjuus (fi), ahdinko (fi), puutteenalaisuus
• Galician: laceira f, miseria f
• Georgian: სიღატაკე (siɣaṭaḳe), სიღარიბე (siɣaribe)
• Portuguese: miséria (pt) f, indigência (pt) f, penúria (pt) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: нищета́ (ru) f (niščetá), бе́дность (ru) f (bédnostʹ)
• Spanish: miseria (es) f
• Swedish: misär (sv) c, elände (sv) n, nöd (sv) c, armod (sv) n
• Ukrainian: зли́дні (zlýdni), бі́дність (uk) (bídnistʹ), нужда́ f (nuždá)

Anagrams

• Myries