States of extreme unhappiness, pain, or difficult suffering; the plural of misery.
From Old French 'miserie' and Latin 'miseria' (wretchedness), derived from 'miser' (wretched, poor). The root 'mis-' suggests something gone wrong or bad. Used in English since the 1200s to describe human suffering.
The word 'misery' has a darker, deeper weight than 'sadness' or 'unhappiness'—it comes from the same root as 'miser' (someone withholding money) because both describe a state of deprivation. Medieval monks would use 'miseries' when describing spiritual anguish.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.