deplorable

[ dih-plawr-uh-buh l, -plohr- ]

/ dɪˈplɔr ə bəl, -ˈploʊr- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deplorable ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

causing or being a subject for grief or regret; lamentable: the deplorable death of a friend.

causing or being a subject for censure, reproach, or disapproval; wretched; very bad: This room is in deplorable order. You have deplorable manners!

Nearby words

depletion, depletion allowance, depletion layer, depletion region, depletory, deplorable, deploration, deplore, deploy, deployment, deplumation

Origin of deplorable

1605–15; < French déplorable < Middle French, equivalent to deplor(er) (see deplore) + -able -able

Related formsde·plor·a·ble·ness, de·plor·a·bil·i·ty, nounde·plor·a·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for deplorable

It is too late to help those who were killed by ISIS, but those who escaped and survived are living in deplorable conditions.
Obama Went to War to Save Them, But They Can’t Get U.S. Visas|Christine van den Toorn, Sherizaan Minwalla|September 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The state of childcare in this nation goes from inadequate to deplorable, even as compared to the child care centers of the 1940s.
Whither the Women’s Movement?|Judith Barnett|July 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
FCC chairman Michael Powell deemed it “classless, crass and deplorable.”
Super Bowl’s ‘Nipplegate’ Fiasco 10 Years Later: The Pop Diva, the Boob, and the Outrage|Marlow Stern|February 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If reports are correct, Iranian nuclear facilities continue their deplorable habit of suddenly blowing up.
Iranian Nuclear Facilities Keep Exploding!|David Frum|January 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST

And the worst example is the expensive and deplorable Senate race in Massachusetts.
Scott Brown-Elizabeth Warren Contest in Massachusetts: Ugliest Senate Race|Matt Latimer|September 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
We both remarked on the deplorable weakness of the cream, and had a good laugh over the method of its manufacture.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 16, No. 93, July, 1865|Various
The French interests in Spain were left in a most deplorable condition.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte|William Milligan Sloane
In New York State the efforts of taxpayers to escape this increasing aggression have had a deplorable effect.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, April 1900|Various
Never, not even under the tyranny of Laud, had the condition of the Puritans been so deplorable as at that time.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
His want of sentiment struck me as his one deplorable trait.
Dead Men Tell No Tales|E. W. Hornung

British Dictionary definitions for deplorable

deplorable

/ (dɪˈplɔːrəbəl) /

adjective

lamentablea deplorable lack of taste

worthy of censure or reproach; very baddeplorable behaviour

Derived Formsdeplorableness or deplorability, noundeplorably, 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

Word Origin and History for deplorable

deplorable

adj.

1610s; see deplore + -able. Perhaps from French déplorable or directly from Late Latin deplorabilis. Johnson (mid-18c.) noted the weakened colloquial use of the word for "very bad." Related: Deplorably.

deplorable

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of deplorable

Examples from the Web for deplorable

British Dictionary definitions for deplorable

deplorable

adjective

Word Origin and History for deplorable

deplorable