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
Synonym Usage
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
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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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.
See Examples For:
Meanwhile, exposés of the wretched conditions in state asylums began to get public attention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
United's 4-1 Champions League defeat in Italy was the result of a wretched performance and Fernandes questioned boss Michael Carrick's tactics.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Murray, who went on to earn the starting role with the Minnesota Vikings, made a wretched start at home to the Green Bay Packers, coached by LaFleur's older brother Matt.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
In that case, you will likely find yourself traveling to or from the concourse on a wretched holdover of midcentury transportation design: the people mover.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
It seemed the jungle’s very essence had sought him out, a living nightmare purged from its most wretched depths.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
I felt all the wretcheder for the lack of a breakfast.
From The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
There’s nowt more wretcheder an we, Or worthier an the rich, I praises ’em for bein’ born, An’ ’eaven for makin’ sich.
From The Humourous Story of Farmer Bumpkin's Lawsuit by Richard Harris
No roads were wretcheder than theirs; nobody cared less than they.
From The Henchman by Mark Lee Luther
I don't believe there was a wretcheder soul in that big city of wretchedness than me.
From The Story of a Bad Boy by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Ah the poor Lover!—In the changing Hands Of Day and Night no wretcheder than He!
From Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám and Salámán and Absál Together With A Life Of Edward Fitzgerald And An Essay On Persian Poetry By Ralph Waldo Emerson by Edward FitzGerald
Last week, on the 19th anniversary of that historic Dempsey-Carpentier battle, Jersey City was the scene of another heavyweight prize fight that will probably go down in history as the wretchedest of the post-Dempsey era.
From Time Magazine Archive
In the wretchedest slum quarter of Partinico. a pinched little town near Palermo, a man lay starving last week.
From Time Magazine Archive
I think it will come famously—but I am the wretchedest of the wretched.
From The Life of Charles Dickens, Vol. I-III, Complete by John Forster
Andrew Windybank had lived the wretchedest month of his life.
From Sea-Dogs All! A Tale of Forest and Sea by Tom Bevan
This was the wretchedest moment in his career.
From Through the Wall by Cleveland Moffett
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
