Wretched

/ˈɹɛt͡ʃɪd/ · adjective

Meaning

Characterized by or feeling deep affliction or distress; very miserable..

Definitions by Sense

1. Characterized by or feeling deep affliction or distress; very miserable.
2. Of an inferior or unworthy nature or social status; contemptible, lowly.
3. Of an insignificant, mean, or poor nature; miserable, paltry, worthless.
4. Of a person, etc.: behaving in a manner causing contempt; base, despicable, wicked.
5. Of weather: causing much discomfort; very unpleasant; miserable.
6. (informal) Used to express annoyance towards or dislike of someone or something: bloody, damned.

Example Sentences

I felt wretched after my wife died.

Oh (men forlorne) how wretched is our ſtate, / Whome heaven and earth oppreſſe with heapes of hate!

[W]ho might be your mother / That you inſult, exult, and all at once / Ouer the vvretched?

Sir, / vve are no Spinſters; nor, if you look upon us, / ſo vvretched as you take us.

Let theſe / Inſnare the vvretched in the toils of lavv, / Fomenting diſcord, and perplexing right, / An iron race!

[…] Emily ſtood, ſilent and trembling, vvretched for herſelf and dreading to leave him in this ſtate of mind.

From thence they came, / VVhere, in the next VVard, a most vvretched band / Groan'd underneath the bitter tyranny / Of a fierce Dæmon; […]

Every time the boat was thrown upward, Shakro shrieked wildly. As for me, I felt wretched and helpless, in the darkness, surrounded with angry waves, whose noise deafened me.

Synonyms for wretched

Antonyms for wretched

Related Words

Word Forms

• more wretched
• most wretched

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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