Miserably means in a way that involves great unhappiness or discomfort. When you fail miserably at something, you fail completely and feel terrible about it. When someone sits miserably in the rain waiting for a late bus, they're cold, wet, and feeling pretty sorry for themselves.

The word suggests extreme sadness, failure, or discomfort, where everything feels wrong or hopeless. A student who studied hard but still performed miserably on a test might feel discouraged and defeated. A sick person lying miserably in bed feels awful and can't imagine feeling better.

When something goes miserably wrong, it goes as wrong as it possibly could. If a party fails miserably, it means almost nothing went right: the food burned, guests didn't show up, and everyone who came felt uncomfortable.