wretched
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹɛt͡ʃɪd/
ipa: /ˈɹɛt͡ʃəd/
Forms: form: more wretched
form: most wretched
Etymology: From Middle English wrecched (“(adjective) characterized by or suffering hardship or misfortune, miserable, unfortunate, unhappy; indigent, poor; of low economic or social status, lowly; (noun) miserable person”) [and other forms], from wrecche (“characterized by or suffering hardship or misfortune, miserable, unfortunate, unhappy; indigent, poor; of low economic or social status, lowly; base, contemptible, vile; reprehensible, wicked; miserly, stingy; of little importance, paltry, worthless”) (from Late Old English wrecc, from Old English wreċċa (“an exile, outcast”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to follow, track; to hunt”)) + -ed (suffix forming adjectives). The English word is analysable as wretch (“(obsolete) wretched”, adjective) + -ed (suffix forming adjectives).
Senses: examples: text: I felt wretched after my wife died.
text: Oh (men forlorne) how wretched is our ſtate, / Whome heaven and earth oppreſſe with heapes of hate!
ref: 1576, George Whetstone, “The Arbour of Vertue, […]”, in The Rocke of Regard, […], London: […] [H. Middleton] for Robert Waley, →OCLC; republished in J[ohn] P[ayne] Collier, editor, The Rocke of Regard, […] (Illustrations of Early English Poetry; vol. 2, no. 2), London: Privately printed, [1867?], →OCLC, page 174:
text: [W]ho might be your mother / That you inſult, exult, and all at once / Ouer the vvretched?
ref: c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v], page 199, column 2:
text: Sir, / vve are no Spinſters; nor, if you look upon us, / ſo vvretched as you take us.
ref: 1622 May 24 (licensing date), John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, “The Prophetesse”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act III, scene i, page 33, column 2:
text: Let theſe / Inſnare the vvretched in the toils of lavv, / Fomenting diſcord, and perplexing right, / An iron race!
ref: a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Autumn”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC, page 160, lines 1289–1292:
text: […] Emily ſtood, ſilent and trembling, vvretched for herſelf and dreading to leave him in this ſtate of mind.
ref: 1794 May 8, Ann Radcliffe, chapter I, in The Mysteries of Udolpho, a Romance; […], 2nd edition, volume IV, London: […] G. G. and J. Robinson, […], →OCLC, page 12:
text: From thence they came, / VVhere, in the next VVard, a most vvretched band / Groan'd underneath the bitter tyranny / Of a fierce Dæmon; […]
ref: 1796, Robert Southey, “Book the Ninth”, in Joan of Arc, an Epic Poem, Bristol: […] Bulgin and Rosser, for Joseph Cottle, […], and Cadell and Davies, and G. G. and J. Robinson, […], →OCLC, pages 346–347, lines 618–621:
text: 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.
ref: 1918, Maxim Gorky, “My Fellow-traveller”, in J. [K.] M. Shirazi [et al.], transl., Creatures that Once were Men […], New York, N.Y.: Boni and Liveright, →OCLC, page 202:
text: Mario Balotelli replaced [Carlos] Tevez but his contribution was so negligible that he suffered the indignity of being substituted himself as time ran out, a development that encapsulated a wretched 90 minutes for City and boss Roberto Mancini.
ref: 2011 April 11, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 3 – 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 27 Jan 2023:
synonyms: word: dejected
word: wretchful
word: atrabiliary
word: atrabilious
word: deplorable
word: depressing
word: distressing
word: grievous
word: miserable
word: lamentable
word: lachrymable
word: mournful
word: pathetic
word: pathetisad
word: pitiable
word: pitiful
word: pitisome
word: regrettable
word: rueful
word: sad
word: saddening
word: sorrowful
word: tragic
word: unhappy
word: upsetting
word: woebegone
word: woeful
word: atrabiliary
word: atrabilious
word: blitheless
word: dispirited
word: blue
word: bummed out
word: chapfallen
word: cheerless
word: chopfallen
word: crestfallen
word: cut up
word: damp
word: dejected
word: depressed
word: despondent
word: disgruntled
word: disconsolate
word: disheartened
word: dismal
word: doleful
word: dolesome
word: down
word: down in the dumps
word: down in the mouth
word: downcast
word: downhearted
word: downsome
word: dull
word: elegiac
word: elegious
word: forlorn
word: gloomy
word: glum
word: grief-stricken
word: grieving
word: heavy-hearted
word: heartsore
word: heartsick
word: inconsolable
word: infelicitous
word: jawfallen
word: joyless
word: lachrymose
word: lamentful
word: low
word: low-spirited
word: lugubrious
word: lumpish
word: melancholic
word: melancholy
word: miserable
word: moody
word: mopey
word: morose
word: mournful
word: passionate
word: plaintive
word: querulous
word: sad
word: saddened
word: saturnine
word: shattered
word: solemn
word: sombre
word: sorrowful
word: sorrow-ridden
word: sorrowsome
word: spiritless
word: sullen
word: threnetic
word: threnetical
word: triste
word: tristful
word: uncheerful
word: uncheery
word: unconsolable
word: unhappy
word: unlively
word: wistful
word: woe
word: woebegone
word: woeful
word: wretched
glosses: Characterized by or feeling deep affliction or distress; very miserable.
examples: text: The street was full of wretched beggars dressed in rags.
text: I had been here ſooner, but that, vvretched man that I am! I ſlept in the Arbour that ſtands on the Hillſide; nay, I had notvvithſtanding that, been here much ſooner, but that in my ſleep I loſt my Evidence, and came vvithout it to the brovv of the Hill; and then feeling for it, and finding it not, I vvas forced vvith ſorrovv of heart, to go back to the place vvhere I ſlept my ſleep, vvhere I found it, and novv I am come.
ref: 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 51:
text: From the foldings of its robe, it [the Ghost of Christmas Present] brought two children; wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable. They knelt down at its feet, and clung upon the outside of its garment.
ref: 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Three. The Second of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 117:
text: So I have withdrawn, like a bad little boy, to conceal myself, out of spite, in one of the wretchedest villages in Saxony.
ref: 1865, Thomas Carlyle, “Battle of Torgau”, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume VI, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book XX, page 135:
text: […] Simonov would size me up, and despise me for my wretched vanity and want of spirit; […]
ref: 1913, Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Letters from the Underworld: Part II: Apropos of the Falling Sleet”, in C[harles] J[ames] Hogarth, transl., edited by Ernest Rhys, Letters from the Underworld (Everyman’s Library; no. 654), London: J[oseph] M[alaby] Dent & Sons; New York, N.Y.: E[dward] P[ayson] Dutton & Co., published 1937, →OCLC, section III, page 79:
text: My room is a wretched, horrid one in the outskirts of the town.
ref: 1918, Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Notes from Underground: A Novel: Part I: Underground”, in Constance Garnett, transl., White Nights and Other Stories […] (The Novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky; X), New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, section I, page 52:
text: This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In a moment she had dropped to the level of the casual labourer.
ref: 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXXVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 287:
glosses: Of an inferior or unworthy nature or social status; contemptible, lowly.
examples: text: All those wretched quarrels, in his humble opinion, stirring up bad blood – bump of combativeness or gland of some kind, erroneously supposed to be about a punctilio of honour and a flag, – were very largely a question of the money question which was at the back of everything, greed and jealousy, people never knowing when to stop.
ref: 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 16: Eumaeus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 598:
synonyms: word: trifling
word: base
word: contemptible
word: foolish
word: for the birds
word: futile
word: frivolous
word: idle
word: ignorable
word: immaterial
word: inconsequential
word: inconsiderable
word: indifferent
word: insignificant
word: like a fart in a windstorm
word: meager
word: mean
word: minor
word: negligible
word: nothingburger
word: nondescript
word: paltry
word: petty
word: picayune
word: picayunish
word: piddling
word: piddly
word: pissant
word: pitiful
word: pointless
word: silly
word: simple
word: slight
word: tin-pot
word: trifling
word: trivial
word: two-bit
word: unimportant
word: unweighty
word: vain
word: worthless
word: wretched
glosses: Of an insignificant, mean, or poor nature; miserable, paltry, worthless.
examples: text: But a Devil came in juſt in the God-ſpeed, and told them; Gentlemen Philoſophers, (ſays he) if you vvould knovv the VVretched'ſt, and moſt contemptible thing in the VVorld; It is an Alchymiſt: […]
ref: 1667, Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, “The Sixth Vision of Hell”, in R[oger] L[’Estrange], transl., The Visions of Dom Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, […], London: […] H[enry] Herringman […], →OCLC, page 247:
text: A Heretic may see the truth and seek redemption. He may be forgiven his past and will be absolved in death. A Traitor can never be forgiven. A Traitor will never find peace in this world or the next. There is nothing as wretched or as hated in all the world as a Traitor.
ref: 1993, Rick Priestley, Andy Chambers, Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook, Second edition, Games Workshop, page 22:
synonyms: word: abject
word: base
word: beggarly
word: blameworthy
word: carrion
word: cheap
word: contemptible
word: cringing
word: dedecorous
word: degraded
word: deridable
word: derisible
word: despicable
word: despisable
word: dirty
word: discreditable
word: disdainable
word: disgraceful
word: dishonorable
word: disreputable
word: execrable
word: groveling
word: ignoble
word: ignominious
word: inglorious
word: lame
word: laughable
word: loathsome
word: ludicrous
word: low
word: mean
word: mean-spirited
word: miserable
word: obscene
word: outrageous
word: pitiable
word: pitiful
word: plebeian
word: paltry
word: putrid
word: reprehensible
word: reptile
word: reptilian
word: reptitious
word: ridiculous
word: risible
word: roynish
word: scald
word: scornworthy
word: scummy
word: scurvy
word: shabby
word: shameful
word: sleazy
word: slavish
word: slimy
word: sordid
word: sorry
word: trashy
word: ugly
word: uncommendable
word: uncool
word: unmentionable
word: unwashed
word: unsophisticated
word: unworthy
word: vile
word: vulgar
word: weak
word: worthless
word: wretched
glosses: Of a person, etc.: behaving in a manner causing contempt; base, despicable, wicked.
glosses: Of weather: causing much discomfort; very unpleasant; miserable.
examples: text: Will you please stop playing that wretched trombone!
synonyms: blasted
bleeding
glosses: Used to express annoyance towards or dislike of someone or something: bloody, damned.
Derived terms: wretchedly
wretchedness
Related terms: word: ratchet
word: wretch
word: wretchful
word: wretchless
word: wretchlessly
word: wretchlessness
word: wretchock