wretched
Americanadjective
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very unfortunate in condition or circumstances; miserable; pitiable.
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characterized by or attended with misery and sorrow.
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despicable, contemptible, or mean.
a wretched miser.
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poor, sorry, or pitiful; worthless.
a wretched job of sewing.
adjective
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in poor or pitiful circumstances
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characterized by or causing misery
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despicable; base
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poor, inferior, or paltry
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(prenominal) (intensifier qualifying something undesirable)
a wretched nuisance
Related Words
Wretched, miserable, sorry refer to that which is unhappy, afflicted, or distressed. Wretched refers to a condition of extreme affliction or distress, especially as outwardly apparent: wretched hovels. Miserable refers more to the inward feeling of unhappiness or distress: a miserable life. Sorry applies to distressed, often poverty-stricken outward circumstances; but it has connotations of unworthiness, incongruousness, or the like, so that the beholder feels more contempt than pity: in a sorry plight.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of wretched
First recorded in 1150–1200, wretched is from the Middle English word wrecchede. See wretch, -ed 3
Explanation
The fairy tale Cinderella gives us many examples of uses for the word wretched. Poor Cinderella had a wretched childhood, living in wretched conditions with a wretched stepmother. It would be enough to make anyone feel wretched, or absolutely terrible. Wretched is an all-around unhappy word. If you're very ill, heartbroken, or riddled with guilt, you may feel wretched. This word is also used to describe awful living conditions. If your cabin at sleep-away camp is freezing cold and rat-infested, you could describe it as wretched. And if you truly don't like someone, you might call that person wretched — though maybe not to his or her face.
Vocabulary lists containing wretched
"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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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.
They’re given to those buckling under the wretched weight of their surrounding world.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
As wretched as smog was, Angelenos were not about to stop driving their cars, so the cars had to change.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
They must avoid setting a new record if they are going to survive, with relegation rivals West Ham's 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa the sliver of hope needed on a wretched afternoon.
From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026
Credit must also go to Brook, who kept Jacks in the attack for a third over which tempted Dunith Wellalage to charge and hit to mid-on – another wretched stroke.
From BBC • Feb. 22, 2026
“When my eyes were opened to his real character—Oh! had I known what I ought, what I dared to do! But I knew not—I was afraid of doing too much. Wretched, wretched mistake!”
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
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.
