miserable
[ miz-er-uh-buhl, miz-ruh- ]
/ ˈmɪz ər ə bəl, ˈmɪz rə- /
adjective
wretchedly unhappy, uneasy, or uncomfortable: miserable victims of war.
wretchedly poor; needy.
of wretched character or quality; contemptible: a miserable villain.
attended with or causing misery: a miserable existence.
manifesting misery.
worthy of pity; deplorable: a miserable failure.
RELATED WORDS
wretched, gloomy, tragic, pathetic, sad, poor, meager, bad, shameful, sorry, afflicted, ailing, brokenhearted, crestfallen, dejected, desolate, despairing, despondent, destroyed, disconsolate
Nearby words
- misenus,
- miser,
- miser, the,
- miserabilism,
- miserabilist,
- miserably,
- miserere,
- misericord,
- misericords,
- miserly
Origin of miserable
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin miserābilis, equivalent to miserā(rī) to pity (derivative of miser wretched) + -bilis -ble
SYNONYMS FOR miserable
1. forlorn, disconsolate, doleful, distressed. See wretched. 2. destitute. 3. despicable, mean, low, abject. 6. pitiable, lamentable.
ANTONYMS FOR miserable
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web 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
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
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miserable
early 15c., "full of misery, causing wretchedness" (of conditions), from Old French miserable "prone to pity, merciful," and directly from Latin miserabilis "pitiable, miserable, deplorable, lamentable," from miserari "to pity, lament, deplore," from miser "wretched" (see miser). Of persons, "existing in a state of misery" it is attested from 1520s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper