Miserable definition | Dictionary.com

mis⋅er⋅a⋅ble

[miz-er-uh-buh

l, miz-ruh-]

–adjective

1.	wretchedly unhappy, uneasy, or uncomfortable: miserable victims of war.

2.	wretchedly poor; needy.

3.	of wretched character or quality; contemptible: a miserable villain.

4.	attended with or causing misery: a miserable existence.

5.	manifesting misery.

6.	worthy of pity; deplorable: a miserable failure.

Origin:
1375–1425; late ME < L miserābilis, equiv. to miserā(rī) to pity (deriv. of miser wretched) + -bilis -ble

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mis·er·a·ble (mĭz'ər-ə-bəl, mĭz'rə-) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Very uncomfortable or unhappy; wretched.
Causing or accompanied by great discomfort or distress: a miserable climate.
Mean or shameful; contemptible: a miserable trick.
Wretchedly inadequate: lived in a miserable shack; fed the prisoners miserable rations.
Of poor quality; inferior: miserable handicraft.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin miserābilis, pitiable, from miserārī, to pity, from miser, wretched.]
mis'er·a·ble n., mis'er·a·ble·ness n., mis'er·a·bly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
miserable

c.1412, "full of misery, causing wretchedness" (of conditions), from O.Fr. miserable, from L. miserabilis "pitiable, lamentable," from miserari "to pity, lament," from miser "wretched." Of persons, "existing in a state of misery" it is attested from 1526.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

miserable
adjective
1.	very unhappy; full of misery; "he felt depressed and miserable"; "a message of hope for suffering humanity"; "wretched prisoners huddled in stinking cages"
2.	deserving or inciting pity; "a hapless victim"; "miserable victims of war"; "the shabby room struck her as extraordinarily pathetic"- Galsworthy; "piteous appeals for help"; "pitiable homeless children"; "a pitiful fate"; "Oh, you poor thing"; "his poor distorted limbs"; "a wretched life" [syn: hapless]
3.	of the most contemptible kind; "abject cowardice"; "a low stunt to pull"; "a low-down sneak"; "his miserable treatment of his family"; "You miserable skunk!"; "a scummy rabble"; "a scurvy trick" [syn: abject]
4.	of very poor quality or condition; "deplorable housing conditions in the inner city"; "woeful treatment of the accused"; "woeful errors of judgment" [syn: deplorable]
5.	characterized by physical misery; "a wet miserable weekend"; "spent a wretched night on the floor"
6.	contemptibly small in amount; "a measly tip"; "the company donated a miserable $100 for flood relief"; "a paltry wage"; "almost depleted his miserable store of dried beans" [syn: measly]