Dictionary entry

Misery

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Mi″ser‐y (?), n.; pl.Miseries (#). [OE. miserie, L. miseria, fr. miser wretched: cf. F. misère, OF. also, miserie.]

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.

Syn. — Wretchedness; torture; agony; torment; anguish; distress; calamity; misfortune.