wretched

wretch·ed

(rĕch′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.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

wretched

(ˈrɛtʃɪd)

adj

1. in poor or pitiful circumstances

2. characterized by or causing misery

3. despicable; base

4. poor, inferior, or paltry

5. (prenominal) (intensifier qualifying something undesirable): a wretched nuisance.

ˈwretchedly adv

ˈwretchedness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

wretch•ed

(ˈrɛtʃ ɪd)

adj.

1. very unfortunate in condition or circumstances; pitiable.

2. characterized by or attended with misery and sorrow; miserable.

3. despicable, contemptible, or mean: a wretched miser.

4. pitiful or worthless; inferior: a wretched job of sewing.

[1150–1200; Middle English wrecchede. See wretch, -ed³]

wretch′ed•ly, adv.

wretch′ed•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	wretched - of very poor quality or condition; "deplorable housing conditions in the inner city"; "woeful treatment of the accused"; "woeful errors of judgment" execrable, deplorable, woeful, miserable inferior - of low or inferior quality
	2.	wretched - characterized by physical misery; "a wet miserable weekend"; "spent a wretched night on the floor" miserable uncomfortable - providing or experiencing physical discomfort; "an uncomfortable chair"; "an uncomfortable day in the hot sun"
	3.	wretched - very unhappy; full of misery; "he felt depressed and miserable"; "a message of hope for suffering humanity"; "wretched prisoners huddled in stinking cages" miserable, suffering unhappy - experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent; "unhappy over her departure"; "unhappy with her raise"; "after the argument they lapsed into an unhappy silence"; "had an unhappy time at school"; "the unhappy (or sad) news"; "he looks so sad"
	4.	wretched - morally reprehensible; "would do something as despicable as murder"; "ugly crimes"; "the vile development of slavery appalled them"; "a slimy little liar" despicable, vile, worthless, slimy, ugly, unworthy evil - morally bad or wrong; "evil purposes"; "an evil influence"; "evil deeds"
	5.	wretched - 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" misfortunate, pathetic, piteous, hapless, poor, miserable, pitiable, pitiful unfortunate - not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune; "an unfortunate turn of events"; "an unfortunate decision"; "unfortunate investments"; "an unfortunate night for all concerned"

wretched

adjective

1. unfortunate, poor, sorry, hapless, pitiful, luckless, star-crossed, pitiable wretched people living in abject poverty

2. unhappy, depressed, distressed, miserable, gloomy, hopeless, dismal, pathetic, worthless, melancholy, pitiful, forlorn, abject, woeful, dejected, downcast, disconsolate, funereal, crestfallen, doleful, down in the dumps (informal), pitiable, cheerless, woebegone, comfortless, brokenhearted The wretched look on the little girl's face melted his heart.
unhappy happy, contented, cheerful, carefree, jovial, untroubled, light-hearted

3. worthless, poor, sorry, miserable, pathetic, inferior, paltry, deplorable What a wretched excuse!
worthless great, successful, excellent, thriving, flourishing, splendid

4. shameful, mean, low, base, shabby, vile, low-down (informal), paltry, despicable, contemptible, scurvy, crappy (slang), poxy (slang) Politicians - I hate the whole wretched lot of them.
shameful decent, worthy, noble, admirable

5. ill, poorly, sick, crook (Austral. & N.Z. informal), sickly, unwell, off colour (Brit. informal), under the weather (informal) The flu was making him feel absolutely wretched.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

wretched

adjective

1. So objectionable as to elicit despisal or deserve condemnation:

abhorrent, abominable, antipathetic, contemptible, despicable, despisable, detestable, disgusting, filthy, foul, infamous, loathsome, lousy, low, mean, nasty, nefarious, obnoxious, odious, repugnant, rotten, shabby, vile.

2. Suffering from usually prolonged anguish:

miserable, woebegone, woeful.

3. Having a painful ailment:

afflicted, miserable, suffering.

Translations

بائِس، تَعيستَعِس، رَديء النَّوْع

elendigforbandet

elend erbärmlich mies

miserable maldito

misérable pauvre piètre méprisable

nyamvadt

bölvaîurlélegur, ömurlegur

infelice miserabile orribile squallido

beden

Allahın cezasıkör olasıperişan pis sefil

肮脏的讨厌的

wretched

[ˈretʃɪd] ADJ

1. (= unhappy) → desdichado, desgraciado

2. (= abject, poor) [condition] → miserable, lamentable; [slum] → lamentable; [life, existence] → miserable, desgraciado, infeliz
to live in wretched poverty → vivir en la miseria más absoluta

3. (= very bad) → horrible, espantoso
what wretched luck! → ¡maldita la suerte!
where's that wretched dog! → ¡dónde está ese maldito or condenado perro!
to feel wretched (= miserable) → sentirse infeliz; (= ill) → sentirse muy mal

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

wretched

[ˈrɛtʃɪd] adj

(= miserable) [person, animal] → misérable often before n; [conditions, life] → misérable

(= lousy) [pay, performance, week, day] → misérable

(= annoying) → maudit(e) before n

(= ill) to feel wretched → se sentir terriblement mal

(= unhappy) → malheureux/euse
to feel wretched (= unhappy, ashamed) → être malheureux/euse
to feel wretched about sth → être malheureux/euse de qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

wretched

adj

→ elend; conditions, life → elend, erbärmlich; clothing → erbärmlich; (= unhappy, depressed) → (tod)unglücklich; I feel wretched (= ill) → mir geht es miserabel (inf), → ich fühle mich elend; I feel wretched about having to say no → es tut mir in der Seele weh, dass ich Nein or nein sagen muss

(= very bad) housing conditions, weather, novel, player → erbärmlich, miserabel (inf); (inf: = damned) → verflixt, elend, Mist- (all inf); what a wretched thing to do! → so etwas Schäbiges!; what wretched luck! → was für ein verflixtes or elendes Pech (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

wretched

[ˈrɛtʃɪd] adj

a. (house, conditions) → misero/a, disgraziato/a; (life) → gramo/a; (pittance) → misero/a; (unhappy, depressed) → infelice, triste
I feel wretched (fam) (ill) → sto malissimo

b. (fam) (very bad, weather, behaviour) → pessimo/a, atroce; (holiday) → orrendo/a, orribile; (results) → pessimo/a; (child) → pestifero/a
I feel wretched about it (fam) (conscience-stricken) → mi sento un verme
what wretched luck! (fam) → che scalogna!
where's that wretched dog? (fam) → dov'è quel maledetto cane?

wretch

(retʃ) noun

1. a miserable, unhappy creature. The poor wretch!

2. a name used in annoyance or anger. You wretch!

wretched (ˈretʃid) adjective

1. very poor or miserable. They live in a wretched little house.

2. used in annoyance. This wretched machine won't work!

ˈwretchedly adverb

ˈwretchedness noun

References in classic literature ?

I will go this moment--but whither?--why, let Fortune direct; since there is no other who thinks it of any consequence what becomes of this wretched person, it shall be a matter of equal indifference to myself.

View in context

Darcy, in wretched suspense, could only say something indistinctly of his concern, and observe her in compassionate silence.

View in context

His master one day, pretending to be angry and shaking his stick at him, said, "You wretched little sluggard!

View in context

They gibber and grow fiercer, paler, uglier, mad distortions of humanity at last, and I wake, cold and wretched, in the darkness of the night.

View in context

There are men, too--wretched busybodies--who walk about merely to see if they can find some wretched tchinovnik or broken-down official who has got toes projecting from his boots or his hair uncut!

View in context

if you knew!--And can you believe me to be so, while I see you so wretched!"

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In the wretched state of my nerves, movement of any kind is exquisitely painful to me.

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When the wretched man again opened his eyes, the count looked at him with a mournful expression of pity, and his lips moved as if in prayer.

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"All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!

View in context

Somebody tell me what he thinks!' cried the wretched object,--so mean, and wretched, and despicable, that even Pity's self might have turned away, at sight of such a being in the likeness of a man--'isn't there a chance for me,-- isn't there a good chance for me?

View in context

But such is the wretched trickery of hole-and-corner Buffery!

View in context

All Stoniton had heard of Dinah Morris, the young Methodist woman who had brought the obstinate criminal to confess, and there was as much eagerness to see her as to see the wretched Hetty.