adjective
also wo·ful ˈwōfəl
( sometimes woefuller sometimes woefullest )
Etymology: Middle English woful, waful, from wo, wa, n., woe + -ful
1. : full of woe : distressed with grief or calamity : sad , sorrowful , afflicted , wretched
two woeful young people — Walter de la Mare
a woeful sight
bade us farewell with woeful prophecies — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
2. : involving, bringing, or relating to woe
woeful want
O woeful day! O day of woe! — Ambrose Philips
3. : calamitous , lamentable , deplorable
the notes … are in part woeful nonsense — Herbert Weinstock
a woeful lack of balance — A.L.Scott