Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Misery \Mi"ser*y\, n.; pl. {Miseries}. [OE. miserie, L. miseria,
   fr. miser wretched: cf. F. mis[`e]re, OF. also, miserie.]
   1. Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind;
      wretchedness; distress; woe. --Chaucer.

            Destruction and misery are in their ways. --Rom.
                                                  iii. 16.

   2. Cause of misery; calamity; misfortune.

            When we our betters see bearing our woes, We
            scarcely think our miseries our foes. --Shak.

   3. Covetousness; niggardliness; avarice. [Obs.]

   Syn: Wretchedness; torture; agony; torment; anguish;
        distress; calamity; misfortune.