woe betide
Used to warn someone that trouble will occur if that person does something: bad things will happen to.
Woe betide you if you try that with my sister again!
woe
/wəʊ/
noun 3adj 1intj 1
Collocations
4ADJ.
all, bad, common, greatest, wild, wondrous
VERB + WOE
am, cries, feel, temper, wexed, work
WOE + NOUN
betide, child, day, gods, infidels, man, sir, unto
PREP.
into, with
Definitions
noun
1
Great sadness or distress; a misfortune causing such sadness.
Oh, woe is me!
Thus saying, from her side the fatal key, / Sad instrument of all our woe, she took.
2
Calamity, trouble.
And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
Don't let the little woes of life harm you / Let the joy in the life you lead / Let it charm you / Let it charm you now
3
A curse; a malediction.
Can there be a woe or curse in all the stores of vengeance equal to the malignity of such a practice?
adj
1
Woeful; sorrowful
hys clerk was wo to do þat dede
And looking vp, when as his shield he lakt, / And sword saw not, he wexed wondrous woe
intj
1
An exclamation of grief.
Miranda: O woe, the day.
Thesaurus
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
woe to
Used to warn someone of trouble or danger if they carry out a certain risky action.
Example Bank
601
Oh, woe is me!
Wiktionary02
Thus saying, from her side the fatal key, / Sad instrument of all our woe, she took.
Wiktionary03
Soon as thy letters trembling I unclose / That well-known name awakens all my woes.
Wiktionary04
hys clerk was wo to do þat dede
Wiktionary05
And looking vp, when as his shield he lakt, / And sword saw not, he wexed wondrous woe
Wiktionary06
Prospero: I am woe for't, Sir.
WiktionaryUsage Notes
i Register
In some senses, woe is marked as obsolete, archaic. Watch for register when choosing this word.
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