What's the difference between misfortune and woe?

Misfortune


Definition:

  • (n.) Bad fortune or luck; calamity; an evil accident; disaster; mishap; mischance.
  • (v. i.) To happen unluckily or unfortunately; to miscarry; to fail.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Other than failing to get a goal, I couldn’t ask for anything more.” From Lambert’s perspective there was an element of misfortune about the first and third goals, with Willian benefitting from handy ricochets on both occasions.
  • (2) Penises do no harm, they just sometimes have the misfortune to be attached to people who do.
  • (3) Recent changes at Bicêtre, the historic French institution, exemplify an old paradox in the care of the elderly: improvements which benefit part of a society can mean more misfortunes for others.
  • (4) The bluefin tuna, which has been endangered for several years and has the misfortune to be prized by Japanese sushi lovers, has suffered a catastrophic decline in stocks in the Northern Pacific Ocean, of more than 96%, according to research published on Wednesday.
  • (5) Last July Swatis might have been forgiven for thinking their misfortune was over.
  • (6) And it left him more conscious than he might have been of the random way in which misfortune can knock lives off course.
  • (7) Taking pleasure at the misfortune of rivals is an instinct baked deeply into the character of many journalists.
  • (8) There was an element of misfortune from our point of view about both but it would have been easy to think things weren’t going our way so I’m really pleased with the way we responded.
  • (9) That’s something which I personally added to a situation that I had experienced, because it seemed to me that one could easily die of one’s misfortunes and the things that depress, deflate one.
  • (10) Liz Truss now has the misfortune to inherit the operational disaster that is the direct result of these continued budget reductions and wild swings in government policy.
  • (11) I am satisfied with what I saw, especially after we had this misfortune to concede an own goal in the first couple of minutes.
  • (12) He smiled warmly on his dustjackets, as a very wealthy, very successful author should, but admitted that he was "preoccupied with death, disease and misfortune".
  • (13) She was objecting to people who used society as an excuse for ignoring their own responsibilities, as when they complain that society shouldn't allow a particular misfortune, while doing nothing to make things better.
  • (14) The emergence of such a disturbing trend is just one example of the many ways that the grim economic times are impacting on demand for care services – in this instance, with innocent children apparently being blamed for family misfortunes.
  • (15) It was conjectured that subjects in the positive condition were annoyed by the disabled person's display of "normal" characteristics, whereas in the negative condition they sympathetically accepted the disabled person's inadequacies as befitting a victim of severe misfortune.
  • (16) To lose one cabinet minister, Jacqui Smith, may be regarded as a misfortune.
  • (17) It has even called in Buddhist monks to conduct religious rites to get rid of misfortune, hoping to dispel staff anxieties.
  • (18) Adding insult to injury, we have to deal with what feels like the entire country blaming us for our misfortune.
  • (19) Lesions of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee are very frequent misfortune and the results of their suture being insufficient yet, made us to explore the possibility to replace the damaged ligament with the fascia lata as an autologous transplant.
  • (20) Knowledge of how these societies try to prevent and cure illness and misfortune would be a preliminary condition for public health programs.

Woe


Definition:

  • (n.) A curse; a malediction.
  • (a.) Woeful; sorrowful.
  • (n.) Grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The disappointing weather at Easter left beaches deserted but some Britons, who were determined to enjoy the outdoors this time round, have already had their plans thwarted by the weather, taking to websites such as ukcampsite.co.uk to swap tales of woe, such as farmers calling to cancel bookings because sites were waterlogged.
  • (2) If I’m the bad guy because I’m not the guy they want me to be, then so be it.” Over the last year he resolved his promotional woes in court and has since signed with Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports – along with Miguel Cotto the nascent sports agency’s highest-profile signing in boxing.
  • (3) While Chinese media have not spelt out Zhou's woes explicitly, the hints have grown more blatant by the month, with some identifying him via his family relationships.
  • (4) Asked if Aamer would talk publicly about his experiences, Crider said: “I think he will make up his own mind about it, and really, woe betide the person who tries to silence Shaker Aamer.” She added that it would be up to him “how much of his story and the terrible things he witnessed that he wants to tell”.
  • (5) Plummeting oil prices only added to economic woes in a country with the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves.
  • (6) To add to their woes, the cost of their dollar-denominated debt is rising; the US Federal Reserve said December’s rate hike is just the start of a “gradual” tightening cycle .
  • (7) It’s a seismic moment for the industry and particularly the big European manufacturers who have done a lot of work on diesel: technologically, they have they made the wrong bet.” Some analysts believe fears of brand damage in Europe are overstated but Bailey says: “In the US it’s very different: VW have killed their diesel market and it has left them in a very difficult position.” For British manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover, the timing of VW’s woes was ominous, as it unveiled two new diesels in America.
  • (8) The aluminium magnate's British-related woes do not stop there: a former business partner, Michael Cherney, is suing him for $4bn in the high court.
  • (9) We have to acknowledge that it's extremely hard to build a regular city from scratch.” Furthermore, some experts say that certified green buildings and pedestrian-friendly roads are a worthless patch for China’s environmental woes, not a solution.
  • (10) The woes of British industry were ­echoed right across Europe in November, as firms slashed production amid plunging demand from consumers in all the world's major markets.
  • (11) Clinton said her woes over her email server had been a “drip, drip, drip” that was impacting her.
  • (12) In an otherwise assured performance on Sunday’s Andrew Marr Show , Douglas Alexander – when urged to address Ed Miliband’s woes – resorted to the words of Harold Wilson.
  • (13) Buhari has presented himself as a born-again democrat who possesses the experience to steer the country through instability, currency woes and rampant corruption.
  • (14) Creative diplomacy is still much required in the Middle East, where it is hard to see how a dominantly military strategy against Islamic State can in itself, and even over time, bring a solution to the region’s woes.
  • (15) The unrest over rising petrol prices is only further adding to Nigeria's security woes: Jonathan already declared a state of emergency over the weekend in parts of the country hit by a growing Islamic insurgency that is fuelled in part by widespread poverty.
  • (16) But that may be the least of Ukip’s woes as it sups the bitter draught of victory.
  • (17) 7.31pm BST Nick Kyrgios's legs have gone to jelly and his heart is full of woe.
  • (18) It is not the cause of Spain's economic woes, but think of this: if everybody paid their dues, Spain's deficit would be zero.
  • (19) The result in some richer countries has been a political movement that blames globalisation for all woes and seeks somehow to wall off the economy from global trends rather than engage cooperatively with foreign nations.
  • (20) Probably... April 23, 2013 11.42am BST Analysts see little relief for Europe The continuing fall in Eurozone output this month ( see 9.19am ) led by Germany's shrinking private sector seconomy, shows that there's no improvement in Europe's woes.

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