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misery

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mis⋅er⋅y

  [miz-uh-ree]
Use misery in a Sentence
–noun, plural -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. Older Use.
a. a pain: a misery in my left side.
b. rheumatism.
c. Often, miseries. a case or period of despondency or gloom.
Origin:
1325–75; ME miserie < L miseria, equiv. to miser wretched + -ia -y 3

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

Antonyms:
3. happiness.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mis·er·y   (mĭz'ə-rē)   
n.   pl. mis·er·ies

    1. The state of suffering and want as a result of physical circumstances or extreme poverty.

    2. Mental or emotional unhappiness or distress: "Our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances" (Martha Washington).

  2. A cause or source of suffering.

  3. Informal A physical ache or ailment.


[Middle English miserie, from Old French, from Latin miseria, from miser, wretched.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

misery 
c.1374, "condition of external unhappiness," from O.Fr. miserie (12c.), from L. miseria "wretchedness," from miser. Meaning "condition of one in great sorrow or mental distress" is from 1535. Meaning "bodily pain" is 1825, Amer.Eng.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

misery

In addition to the idiom beginning with misery, also see put someone out of his or her misery.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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