lamentable

[ luh-men-tuh-buhl, lam-uhn-tuh- ]
See synonyms for: lamentablelamentably on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. that is to be lamented; regrettable; unfortunate: a lamentable decision.

  2. Rare. mournful.

Origin of lamentable

1
1400–50; late Middle English <Latin lāmentābilis, equivalent to lāmentā() (see lament) + -bilis-ble

Other words from lamentable

  • la·men·ta·ble·ness, noun
  • la·men·ta·bly, adverb
  • un·lam·en·ta·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lamentable in a sentence

  • From the time of Dean Swift downwards, it has mostly suffered from being lamentably unfashionable.

  • The congregation of Trinity Church is better than it was a few years ago, but it is still lamentably, small.

  • Mademoiselle Desgarcins had got up, shaken herself, and gone to rejoin her companions, who were still howling lamentably.

  • He would have made his brother Duke such as he was himself,—had not his brother Duke been so lamentably thin-skinned.

    The Prime Minister | Anthony Trollope
  • The moment he approached they fell to the ground, and whimpered and howled most lamentably as long as he was near them.

British Dictionary definitions for lamentable

lamentable

/ (ˈlæməntəbəl) /


adjective
  1. wretched, deplorable, or distressing

  2. an archaic word for mournful

Derived forms of lamentable

  • lamentableness, noun
  • lamentably, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012