misery

[[t]mɪ̱zəri[/t]]

miseries

1) N-VAR Misery is great unhappiness.

All that money brought nothing but sadness and misery and tragedy.

...the miseries of his youth.

2) N-UNCOUNT Misery is the way of life and unpleasant living conditions of people who are very poor.

A tiny, educated elite profited from the misery of their two million fellow countrymen.

Syn:

deprivation

3) N-COUNT (disapproval) If you say that someone is a misery, you are critical of them because they are always complaining. [mainly BRIT, INFORMAL]

I'm not such a misery now! I gave up drink a few years back and that has changed things a lot.

4) PHRASE: V and life inflect If someone makes your life a misery, they behave in an unpleasant way towards you over a period of time and make you very unhappy.

I would really like living here if it wasn't for the gangs of kids who make our lives a misery.

Syn:

make your life hell

5) PHRASE: V inflects If you put someone out of their misery, you tell them something that they are very anxious to know. [INFORMAL]

Please put me out of my misery. How do you do it?

6) PHRASE: V inflects If you put an animal out of its misery, you kill it because it is sick or injured and cannot be cured or healed.

Syn:

put down