miserable
Americanadjective
-
wretchedly unhappy, uneasy, or uncomfortable.
miserable victims of war.
- Synonyms:
- distressed, doleful, disconsolate, forlorn
- Antonyms:
- happy
-
wretchedly poor; needy.
- Synonyms:
- destitute
- Antonyms:
- wealthy
-
of wretched character or quality; contemptible.
a miserable villain.
- Synonyms:
- abject, low, mean, despicable
- Antonyms:
- good
-
attended with or causing misery.
a miserable existence.
-
manifesting misery.
-
worthy of pity; deplorable.
a miserable failure.
- Synonyms:
- lamentable, pitiable
adjective
-
unhappy or depressed; wretched
-
causing misery, discomfort, etc
a miserable life
-
contemptible
a miserable villain
-
sordid or squalid
miserable living conditions
-
mean; stingy
-
(pejorative intensifier)
you miserable wretch
Synonym Usage
See wretched.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
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
Explanation
Miserable goes way beyond sad — it means absolutely wretched. Someone who's miserable feels absolutely awful. If you were caught in the pouring rain, missed your own birthday party, and then got food poisoning, you wouldn't just feel bad. You'd be miserable — which means exceptionally unhappy. Victor Hugo's novel, Les Miserables ("The Miserable Ones"), is the story of people who live a wretched life filled with death and unhappiness. You might want to bring some tissues if you're heading to the musical!
Vocabulary lists containing miserable
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
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Curmudgeon, Cantankerous and Churlish: Grouchy Words
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Charlotte's Web
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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.
It’s made an intense summer of heat particularly miserable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
"Yes, I support gay marriage. They have every right to be as miserable as straight people."
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
But how do you deal with co-workers who constantly complain about relatively minor things and manage to make every meeting miserable?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
If everything around us is telling us we are going to feel miserable, that we’re not recovered, we’ll start to believe it.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
That was probably why he’d brought us to this miserable place, to keep us safe from the beast.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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.
