woebegone
/ˈwəʊbɪɡɒn/
"woebegone" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“woebegone” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a deplorable state.
Corpus desk
Index EN-woebegone · woebegone · English
woebegone · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "W" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | woebegone |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈwəʊbɪɡɒn/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “woebegone” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
woebegone is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈwəʊbɪɡɒn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for woebegone, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old English wābegān (“beset by woe”), from wā (“woe”) + begān (“to beset, to surround”). Equivalent to woe + begone (past participle of bego). The correct English form is woebegone, spelled W-O-E-B-E-G-O-N-E.
Definition
- 1In a deplorable state.
- 2Filled with or deeply affected by woe.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how woebegone appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The 44-year-old Prokhorov, the second-richest man in Russia, is expected to assume control of the woebegone Nets within the next few weeks.
Pen and Miss Bolton were hard by listening to the same concert, and the latter remarked, and Pen laughed at Mr. Foker’s woebegone face. Fanny asked what it was that made that odd-looking little man so dismal? “I think he is crossed in love!” Pen said.
Etymology
From Old English wābegān (“beset by woe”), from wā (“woe”) + begān (“to beset, to surround”). Equivalent to woe + begone (past participle of bego).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.