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Wretchedness - 4 dictionary results

wretch⋅ed

   [rech-id]
–adjective, -er, -est.
1. very unfortunate in condition or circumstances; miserable; pitiable.
2. characterized by or attended with misery and sorrow.
3. despicable, contemptible, or mean: a wretched miser.
4. poor, sorry, or pitiful; worthless: a wretched job of sewing.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME wrecchede. See wretch, -ed 3
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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wretch·ed     (rěch'ĭd)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.   wretch·ed·er, wretch·ed·est
  1. In a deplorable state of distress or misfortune; miserable: "the wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages" (George Orwell).
  2. Characterized by or attended with misery or woe: a wretched life.
  3. Of a poor or mean character; dismal: a wretched building.
  4. Contemptible; despicable: wretched treatment of the patients.
  5. Of very inferior quality: wretched prose.


[Middle English wrecched, from wrecche, wretch; see wretch.]

wretch'ed·ly adv., wretch'ed·ness n.
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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wretchedness

noun
1. a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune; "the misery and wretchedness of those slums is intolerable" [syn: misery] 
2. the character of being uncomfortable and unpleasant; "the wretchedness for which these prisons became known"; "the grey wretchedness of the rain" 
3. the quality of being poor and inferior and sorry; "he has compiled a record second to none in its wretchedness" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Wretchedness

Wretch"ed*ness\, n. 1. The quality or state of being wretched; utter misery. --Sir W. Raleigh.

2. A wretched object; anything despicably. [Obs.]

Eat worms and such wretchedness. --Chaucer.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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