misery

UK: /ˈmɪzəri/ US: /ˈmɪzəri/ ,(miz′ə rē)

Inflections of 'misery' (n): npl: miseries

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

mis•er•y /ˈmɪzəri/   n., pl. -er•ies. 

1. wretched, unfortunate, or unhappy conditions:
   [uncountable] the misery he felt after his defeat.
   [countable] home and job miseries.

See -miser-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mis•er•y  (miz′ə rē), n., pl. -er•ies. 

1. wretchedness of condition or circumstances.
2. distress or suffering caused by need, privation, or poverty.
3. great mental or emotional distress;
   extreme unhappiness.
4. a cause or source of distress.
5. Slang Terms [Older Use.]
   • a pain:
     a misery in my left side.
   • rheumatism.
   • Often miseries. a case or period of despondency or gloom.

• Latin miseria, equivalent. to miser wretched + -ia -y³
• Middle English miserie 1325–75

Synonyms

• 1. tribulation, trial, suffering.
• 3. grief, anguish, woe, torment, desolation. See sorrow. 

Antonyms

• 3. happiness.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

misery / ˈmɪzərɪ/ noun ( -eries)

1. intense unhappiness, discomfort, or suffering; wretchedness
2. a cause of such unhappiness, discomfort, etc
3. squalid or poverty-stricken conditions
4. a person who is habitually depressed: he is such a misery

Etymology: 14th Century: via Anglo-Norman from Latin miseria, from miser wretched