misery
mis·ery/ˈmɪz(ə)ɹi/noun
misery is spelled M-I-S-E-R-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables (mis·ery). It appears 7.8 times per million words in written English, the 8,417th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Misery, the name). As a noun, misery means “Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of misery is miseries.
How many letters and syllables are in misery?
| Letters | 6: M-I-S-E-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: mis·ery |
| In writing | 7.8 times per million words; the 8,417th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is misery?
Misery appears 7.8 times per million words in written English, the 8,417th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Misery, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce misery?
- UK /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹɪ/
- US /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹi/
Misery has 2 syllables, split mis·ery in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-misery.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of misery
- miseries plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does misery mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe.
Ever since his wife left him you can see the misery on his face.
- 2
UKUSA bodily ache or pain.
- 3
Cause of misery; calamity; misfortune.
- 4
poverty.
- 5
archaicgreed; avarice.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Misery in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | misère |
| German | Misere, Elend |
| Portuguese | miséria , desgraça , indigência, penúria |
| Spanish | miseria, sinvivir , desgracia, desdicha, infortunio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does misery come from?
From Middle English miserie, from Old French miserie (modern: misère), from Latin miseria, from miser, equivalent to miser + -y. Doublet of misère and mizeria.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).