adjective
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wretched, deplorable, or distressing
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an archaic word for mournful
Other Word Forms
- lamentableness noun
- lamentably adverb
- unlamentable adjective
Etymology
Origin of lamentable
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin lāmentābilis, equivalent to lāmentā ( rī ) ( lament ) + -bilis -ble
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.
"Local police and Spain's Civil Guard have begun investigating to try to clear up this lamentable event, in which everything points towards a robbery," read the post.
From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026
Lundstram, who had one of his worst days in a Rangers jersey with an unfortunate own goal and a lamentable decision that earned him a red card, is more defensively minded.
From BBC • May 11, 2024
Some of them are plodding, while others put on full display the lamentable labor conditions that still dog much of the industry today.
From Slate • Sep. 6, 2023
“What lamentable comments from the ex- president!” tweeted Luis Carlos Ugalde, who served as president of Mexico’s Federal Election Institute during part of Fox’s presidential term.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 26, 2023
That was the most lamentable of her numerous frustrated undertakings.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
