wretch
Americannoun
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wretches
plural
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a deplorably unfortunate or unhappy person.
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a person of despicable or base character.
noun
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a despicable person
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a person pitied for his misfortune
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of wretch
before 900; Middle English wrecche, Old English wrecca exile, adventurer; cognate with German Recke warrior, hero, Old Norse rekkr man
Explanation
A wretch is someone who is so miserable and unlucky that you almost have to feel sorry for the person. You might pity the poor wretch who was fired at work over something that wasn’t even his fault. Wretch traces back to the Old English word wrecca, meaning “banished person” — so no wonder a wretch is so unhappy! A wretch is in such a bad situation that a sense of pity typically goes along with the word, and you’ll often see the terms “poor wretch” or “unfortunate wretch.” Wretch can also be used more informally to describe someone who’s wicked or hateful, like that ungrateful wretch who complained to the boss when you brought snacks to work.
Vocabulary lists containing wretch
A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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Anthem
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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.
See Examples For:
This pathetic wretch longs to escape to Istanbul, where he can be around the worldly types he prefers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2024
She opposed what she described as a "Western perception that the African female is a downtrodden wretch".
From BBC ● May 31, 2023
Meeting Wilson after the game for an interview in a conference room at Camp Randall Stadium, I was startled that a 5-foot-11, ink-stained wretch like me could look him straight in the eye.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2022
Ms. Lessin, 36, is the rare editor to have risen from ink-stained wretch to a player, much like Peter Bart when he ruled Variety, or Anna Wintour of Vogue.
From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2020
Hungry Joe was a jumpy, emaciated wretch with a fleshless face of dingy skin and bone and twitching veins squirming subcutaneously in the blackened hollows behind his eyes like severed sections of snake.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Among those former ink-stained wretches were major talents like Le Batard, Bill Simmons, and Jemele Hill.
From Slate ● Dec. 3, 2023
To the author Évelyne Trouillot, writing in another essay, this image evokes “boat people” migrants — but seen as hopeful voyagers, not huddled wretches.
From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2023
When some of my fellow ink-stained wretches say things like “people are saying x should be fired,” the “people” are usually 15 randos with their cat as their profile pic.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2022
The perfect show for all of us ink-stained wretches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 30, 2018
Bundled thickly in his furs, Tyrion Lannister pulled on his gloves and nodded to the poor frozen wretches standing sentry outside the Commander's Keep.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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.
