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wretched

 - 3 dictionary results

wretch⋅ed

  [rech-id]
Use wretched in a Sentence
–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

Related forms:
wretch⋅ed⋅ly, adverb
wretch⋅ed⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. dejected, distressed, afflicted, woeful, woebegone, forlorn, unhappy. 2. Wretched, miserable, sorry refer to that which is unhappy, afflicted, or distressed. Wretched refers to a condition of extreme affliction or distress, esp. as outwardly apparent: wretched hovels. Miserable refers more to the inward feeling of unhappiness or distress: a miserable life. Sorry applies to distressed, often poverty-stricken outward circumstances; but it has connotations of unworthiness, incongruousness, or the like, so that the beholder feels more contempt than pity: in a sorry plight. 3. base, vile.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To wretched
wretch·ed   (rěch'ĭd)   
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 © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

wretched 
c.1200, wrecched, an irregular formation from wrecche "wretch" (see wretch). Cf. also wicked.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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