deplorable
Americanadjective
-
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!
adjective
-
lamentable
a deplorable lack of taste
-
worthy of censure or reproach; very bad
deplorable behaviour
Other Word Forms
- deplorability noun
- deplorableness noun
- deplorably adverb
Etymology
Origin of deplorable
1605–15; < French déplorable < Middle French, equivalent to deplor ( er ) ( deplore ) + -able -able
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While local authorities said less than 40 died, NGOs insisted several thousand migrant workers -- many from Nepal -- perished in deplorable conditions in the extreme heat, often from heart attacks.
From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026
"Whoever committed this deplorable wildlife crime should hang their heads in shame."
From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026
Sly, wry, adorable and deplorable, Guillaume Marbeck is priceless as the endlessly irritating and yet frustratingly charismatic Jean-Luc Godard in one of the year’s brightest pictures, a rare standout in a sea of multiplex mediocrity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025
Ms Doutre also said detainees are often kept at facilities with "deplorable" conditions.
From BBC • Oct. 31, 2025
She considered it a deplorable lapse on the part of her subjects not to tell her everything and at once.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
