deplorable

[ dih-plawr-uh-buhl, -plohr- ]
See synonyms for deplorable on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. causing or being a subject for grief or regret; lamentable: the deplorable death of a friend.

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

Origin of deplorable

1
1605–15; <French déplorable<Middle French, equivalent to deplor(er) (see deplore) + -able-able

Other words from deplorable

  • de·plor·a·ble·ness, de·plor·a·bil·i·ty, noun
  • de·plor·a·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use deplorable in a sentence

  • Mach was “un bon mecanicien,” Einstein said bitterly, but a “deplorable philosophe.”

  • In most cases he is deplorably curt of speech and brusque of deportment.

    The Arena | Various
  • That's really not my case—I find my capacity for pleasure deplorably below the mark I've set.

    The Tragic Muse | Henry James
  • How deplorably and unaccountably evanescent are our frames of mind, as various as the forms and hues of the summer clouds!

  • She had spoken of her to her aunt, who had again shown herself deplorably illiberal and incisive.

    Gray youth | Oliver Onions

British Dictionary definitions for deplorable

deplorable

/ (dɪˈplɔːrəbəl) /


adjective
  1. lamentable: a deplorable lack of taste

  2. worthy of censure or reproach; very bad: deplorable behaviour

Derived forms of deplorable

  • deplorableness or deplorability, noun
  • deplorably, 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