miserable

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of miserable

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin miserābilis, equivalent to miserā(rī) “to pity” (derivative of miser “wretched”) + -bilis -ble

synonym study for miserable

1. See wretched.

OTHER WORDS FROM miserable

mis·er·a·ble·ness, nounmis·er·a·bly, adverbqua·si-mis·er·a·ble, adjectivequa·si-mis·er·a·bly, adverb

Words nearby miserable

Miseno, Misenus, miser, miserabilism, miserabilist, miserable, misère, Miserere, misericord, miserly, misery

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

How to use miserable in a sentence

Its four electric motors had a record-beating efficiency of 97%, far ahead of the miserable 27% of standard thermal engines.
Use today’s tech solutions to meet the climate crisis and do it profitably|Walter Thompson|February 12, 2021|TechCrunch
It came rushing back, how miserable I was just hours before I unfurled my picnic blanket on the damp grass and we worked our way through the pleasantries of a first date.
Love, Loneliness, and the Chicken in My Freezer|Elazar Sontag|February 9, 2021|Eater
Hollye Kirkcaldy, director at Sparro House, a remote-working creative agency, attempted to return to work full-time after having her first child, but admitted the experience made her miserable.
‘It’s possible if done right’: Pandemic accelerates demand for flexible senior roles|Jessica Davies|February 3, 2021|Digiday
I prayed and prayed the break would end and now that it has ended I feel even more miserable.
Carolyn Hax: He asked to ‘take a break’; now he wants to take up where they left off|Carolyn Hax|January 19, 2021|Washington Post

Coming off a miserable 2020 season, United would have to ensure an adequate supporting cast.
Mesut Özil playing for D.C. United seems unlikely. But it’s not impossible.|Steven Goff|January 14, 2021|Washington Post
Despite being one of the most powerful men in the world, the king looks miserable.
The French Court’s Royal Ban on Smiles|William O’Connor|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The young people in Girls are miserable, peevish, depressed, hate their bodies, themselves, their life, and each other.
Up to a Point: They Made Me Write About Lena Dunham|P. J. O’Rourke|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Like Donal, he requested to go to boarding school to escape his homelife; also like Donal, he was initially miserable there.
Colm Toibin Describes The Creation Of His Quiet Masterpiece ‘Nora Webster’|Jennie Yabroff|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Millions of children in India endure miserable and difficult lives.
Stopping the Small Hands of Slavery|Meenakshi Ganguly|October 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was going along OK, but looking back, I was filled with anger and took it out on my first wife and made her life miserable.
David Lynch on Transcendental Meditation, ‘Twin Peaks,’ and Collaborating With Kanye West|Marlow Stern|October 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
U was an Usurer, a miserable elf; V was a Vintner, who drank all himself.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
Madame and myself had just been regretting that we should have to pass the evening in this miserable hole of a town.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
Or, if I escaped these dangers for a day or two, what could I expect but a miserable death of cold and hunger?
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
All the miserable stratagems they had been guilty of to win him; the dishonest plotting and planning.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood
Eight weary years have passed, and we have reached a miserable day in the month of November.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various

British Dictionary definitions for miserable

miserable

/ (ˈmɪzərəbəl, ˈmɪzrə-) /

adjective

unhappy or depressed; wretched

causing misery, discomfort, etca miserable life

contemptiblea miserable villain

sordid or squalidmiserable living conditions

Scot, Australian and NZ mean; stingy

(pejorative intensifier)you miserable wretch

Derived forms of miserable

miserableness, nounmiserably, adverb

Word Origin for miserable

C16: from Old French, from Latin miserābilis worthy of pity, from miserārī to pity, from miser wretched

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

miserable

OTHER WORDS FOR miserable

OPPOSITES FOR miserable

Origin of miserable

synonym study for miserable

OTHER WORDS FROM miserable

Words nearby miserable

Words related to miserable

How to use miserable in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for miserable

Derived forms of miserable

Word Origin for miserable