wretched
Part of speech: adj
Morphological type: derivation
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).
Base: wretch
Affixes: -ed
Inflected forms:
form: more wretched
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most wretched
pos: adj
tags: superlative
Senses:
gloss: Characterized by or feeling deep affliction or distress; very miserable.
pos: adj
examples: 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.
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.
gloss: Of an inferior or unworthy nature or social status; contemptible, lowly.
pos: adj
examples: The street was full of wretched beggars dressed in rags.
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.
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.
So I have withdrawn, like a bad little boy, to conceal myself, out of spite, in one of the wretchedest villages in Saxony.
[…] Simonov would size me up, and despise me for my wretched vanity and want of spirit; […]
My room is a wretched, horrid one in the outskirts of the town.
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.
gloss: Of an insignificant, mean, or poor nature; miserable, paltry, worthless.
pos: adj
examples: I just lack the fine motor skill. Same reason I'm a grown man who doesn't know how to use a screwdriver without looking like a retard. Oh, I'm wretched.
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.
gloss: Of a person, etc.: behaving in a manner causing contempt; base, despicable, wicked.
pos: adj
examples: 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: […]
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.
gloss: Of weather: causing much discomfort; very unpleasant; miserable.
pos: adj
gloss: Used to express annoyance towards or dislike of someone or something: bloody, damned.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: Will you please stop playing that wretched trombone!
Related words: ratchet
wretch
wretchful
wretchless
wretchlessly
wretchlessness
wretchock
Derived words: wretchedly
wretchedness
Translations: