MEANING
Looking deeply sad or miserable; also shabby or in a sorry condition.
Use it for
Visible dejection, disheveled people, shabby abandoned-looking objects.Convey a sorry appearance without requiring intense terror or grief.
Words that belong together
- woebegone face
- woebegone appearance
- woebegone figure
On the page
A woebegone child sat beside the empty carriage.
The old garden shed looked even more woebegone after the storm.
His woebegone face invited sympathy until he explained his trivial complaint.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- woebegone
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Usage notes
Primary category: gothic. Often slightly literary and sometimes affectionate or comic; does not mean that sorrow has gone away. Comparative more woebegone; superlative most woebegone. Derived noun woebegoneness.
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