What is the Latin word for woeful?

The usual Latin words for “woeful” are trīstis, maestus, subtrīstis; also pertrīstis, miser, fortūna. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“woeful” in Latin

trīstissad, unhappy, melancholy, morose; sorrowful, mournful; disagreeable, harsh, bitter (of taste)maestussad, sorrowful, melancholy; gloomy; mournful, of or pertaining to mourning or sadness subtrīstissomewhat sad or sorrowful pertrīstisvery sad, etc.miserpoor, wretched, pitiful; miserable, unhappy; worthless, null fortūnafortune, luck; good fortune; misfortune (depending on context); destiny, fate miserābilispitiable, miserable, deplorable, lamentable, wretched, sad, pitiful, pathetic aspiciōto look at, towards, or upon; behold, gaze at or upon; view, see, examine, survey, inspect, investigate; regard, respect lūctuōsussorrowful, sad; lamentable, doleful, mournful exitiuma going out, egress; destruction, ruin; the cause of destruction or ruin

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

woeful

tristis (sad, whose grief or sorrow about present evils is visible and impressed on his face): maestus (sad, melancholy; PROP., of persons, but also of things; Vid: also, SAD). Rather woeful, subtristis (rare; Terentianus): very woeful, pertristis; permaestus: miser (that excites compassion; e.g., situation, res; fate, fortuna; life, vita): miserabilis (miserable; e.g., aspect, sight, aspectus): luctuosus (sad, sorrowful; e.g., death, exitium): flebilis (that will draw forth tears). To have a woeful countenance, vultu animi dolorem prae se ferre; vultu tristi or maesto esse: with a woeful countenance, maesto et conturbato vultu (Auct. ad Her.): woeful news, tristes nuncii: a woeful end, tristis exitus or eventus: woeful times, tempora misera, dura, or iniqua; misera tempora et luctuosa (Cic.); temporum iniquitas, gravitas, or calamitas.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for woeful?: The usual Latin words for “woeful” are trīstis, maestus, subtrīstis; also pertrīstis, miser, fortūna. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.