deplorable
Americanadjective
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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
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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
"What happened was barbaric, deplorable and shameful. We want the strictest punishment for those responsible," said Badshah Mian, managing director of Pioneer Knitwear.
From BBC
"Whoever committed this deplorable wildlife crime should hang their heads in shame."
From BBC
"They left me there all night, with damp walls, toilets in a deplorable state with hundreds of cockroaches and fecal matter that has built up over months," Castro recounted.
From Barron's
Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Benjamin Vazquez said he was troubled by what took place outside of the federal building on Jan. 9 and called the federal officers’ actions “deplorable.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.