woebegone
woe·be·gone/ˈwoʊbiˌɡɔn/adjective, noun
woebegone is spelled W-O-E-B-E-G-O-N-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables (woe·be·gone). It appears about once in every 24 million words in written English, the 148,541st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, woebegone means “Of a person: deeply affected or overwhelmed by suffering or trouble, and so filled with woe (“great distress or sadness”); (loosely) forlorn, sad…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in woebegone?
| Letters | 9: W-O-E-B-E-G-O-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: woe·be·gone |
| In writing | about once in every 24 million words; the 148,541st 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 woebegone?
Woebegone appears about once in every 24 million words in written English, the 148,541st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce woebegone?
- UK /ˈwəʊbɪɡɒn/
- US /ˈwoʊbiˌɡɔn/
- US /-bə-/
Woebegone has 3 syllables, split woe·be·gone in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-woebegone.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-woebegone.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of woebegone
- more woebegone comparative
- most woebegone superlative
- woebegones plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does woebegone mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of a person: deeply affected or overwhelmed by suffering or trouble, and so filled with woe (“great distress or sadness”); (loosely) forlorn, sad, unhappy.
- 2
Of a person or thing: having a distressed, miserable, or sad appearance.
- 3
Of a thing: in a deplorable state.
noun
- 1
A person who is deeply affected or overwhelmed by suffering or trouble, and so filled with woe.
Near-synonym: (chiefly US, informal) sad sack
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Woebegone in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | abattu , désolé |
| German | jammernd, wehklagend , erbärmlich, heruntergekommen, jammervoll, kläglich |
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.