misery

misery — noun

1. a state of extreme unhappiness, pain, or emotional distress, especially one that

1.nounB2
Definition

a state of extreme unhappiness, pain, or emotional distress, especially one that lasts a long time or is brought on by very hard life conditions — for example, losing a loved one, living in poverty, or suffering a long illness.

Example

The Chen family lived in misery after losing their home in the flood.

collocation: live in misery

Years of illness brought nothing but misery to Saira's grandfather.

bring nothing but misery to [person]

Common collocations
  • deep misery
  • utter misery
  • sheer misery
  • abject misery
  • live in misery
  • wallow in misery
  • escape misery
  • end the misery
  • misery of poverty
  • misery of war
Synonyms
  • suffering

    broader term covering both physical and emotional pain; less intense and more general than misery

  • distress

    focuses on worry, anxiety, or upset; usually less severe and shorter in duration than misery

  • anguish

    more intense, more purely emotional; suggests mental torture rather than circumstantial hardship

  • agony

    extreme, often acute pain; can be physical or mental, but implies greater intensity in a shorter time frame

Antonyms
  • happiness

    general opposite; the state of being content or joyful

  • bliss

    extreme happiness; suggests a complete absence of any suffering

  • comfort

    focuses on ease and freedom from hardship

Grammar Patterns

adjective + misery

in misery

misery + of + noun phrase

Usage Note

Typically uncountable — do not say "a misery" when referring to unhappiness (that belongs to sense 2). Frequently modified by adjectives such as utter, sheer, pure, abject, or deep. Common in both formal and everyday contexts but most natural when describing prolonged suffering rather than a brief moment of sadness.

Common Mistakes

I have a misery in my leg.
I have a pain in my leg.
Misery describes emotional or circumstantial suffering, not a physical sensation.
The news brought me a misery.
The news brought me misery.
As an uncountable noun, misery does not take the article 'a' when referring to suffering.

2. someone who is never satisfied, complains all the time, and whose negative attit

2.nounC1
Definition

someone who is never satisfied, complains all the time, and whose negative attitude makes other people feel uncomfortable or annoyed.

Example

Nobody wanted to sit next to Walid at dinner because he was such a misery.

informal: 'be such a misery'

Our supervisor is a real misery — she never has anything good to say about anyone.

a real misery (countable singular)

Common collocations
  • a misery
  • such a misery
  • real misery
  • complete misery
  • old misery
Synonyms
  • grouch

    similar meaning but slightly less intense; more common in American English

  • moaner

    focuses specifically on a person who complains verbally rather than on their general negative mood

Grammar Patterns

be + a + misery

such a misery

a real / complete misery

Usage Note

Countable noun — must take 'a' or 'the' in singular form. More common in British English than American English; in US English, 'a grouch' or 'a sourpuss' are more frequently used instead. The tone is mildly critical but can be affectionate when used among close friends.

Common Mistakes

He is misery today.
He is a misery today.
When referring to a person, the article 'a' is required because this sense is countable.
She is such a miser.
She is such a misery.
A miser is someone who hoards money; a misery is someone who always complains. These are different words.
Idioms

put someone out of their misery

idiom

a) to kill an animal that is suffering from an illness or injury that cannot be treated, so that it no longer feels pain. b) to tell someone something they are very eager to know, so they stop worrying or waiting anxiously.

The vet decided it was kinder to put the old dog out of its misery.

Please put me out of my misery — did I pass the exam or not?

misery loves company

idiom

a saying that unhappy people feel less unhappy when other people are also suffering or having a hard time.

Eri was oddly relieved that her colleague had also made a mistake in the report — misery loves company, she thought.

make somebody’s life a misery

idiom

To cause someone to be very unhappy over a period of time.

The noisy neighbors made our life a misery for months.

Did the bully make your life a misery at school?

put somebody out of their misery

idiom

To tell someone something they are eager to know, ending their anxiety.

Put me out of my misery and tell me the test results.

She put him out of his misery by revealing the winner.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe unpleasant emotional or physical states, but they differ in intensity, duration, and focus. Suffering is the broadest term — it covers any kind of pain, loss, or hardship, and can last anywhere from minutes to years. Distress is more specific to worry and upset; it is usually less severe than misery and tends to be shorter-lived, like the distress of waiting for test results. Anguish is the most intensely emotional of the group, describing a feeling of mental torture that can make a person feel torn apart inside — for example, the anguish of losing a child. Agony implies extreme, often acute pain that may be physical (agonizing burns) or mental (agonizing guilt), but it suggests a more explosive, shorter peak than the slow weight of misery. In everyday use, a person might feel distress before a job interview, suffer through the agony of a kidney stone, experience the anguish of betrayal, and live in the misery of long-term unemployment. Choose misery when the focus is on prolonged, grinding unhappiness tied to one's circumstances.

suffering ↗distress ↗anguishagony

Common collocations

Nouns

  • cause misery
  • bring misery
  • end misery
  • escape misery
  • endure misery
  • suffer misery
  • spread misery

Phrases

  • misery and suffering
  • poverty and misery
  • a life of misery
  • an existence of misery

Prepositions

  • in misery
  • out of misery
  • through misery
  • of misery

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Misery entered English through Old French 'miserie' around the 1300s, ultimately from Latin 'miseria' meaning 'wretchedness, distress.' The Latin root is 'miser' (wretched, unhappy), which also gave us 'miserable' and 'miser.' The word originally meant any kind of suffering or unhappy condition; the countable sense referring to a person (a misery) developed later, in the 1800s, as informal British usage.