wretched
Wretched (adj) means Extremely unhappy or in a miserable, unfortunate state. Example: “He felt wretched after losing his job and his home in the same month.”
How to use wretched
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishMiserable, pitiful, or of terrible quality — also used as a mild curse when something annoys you.
Word forms
- Comparative
- more wretched
- Superlative
- most wretched
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
He felt _____ after losing his job and his home in the same month.
Etymology
Comes from Middle English wrecched (“(adjective) characterized by or suffering hardship or misfortune, miserable, unfortunate, unhappy; indigent, poor; of low economic or social status, lowly; (noun) miserable person”) and other forms, from wrecche (“characterized by or suffering hardship or misfortune, miserable, unfortunate, unhappy; indigent, poor; of low economic or social status, lowly; base, contemptible, vile; reprehensible, wicked; miserly, stingy; of little importance, paltry, worthless”), itself from Late Old English wrecc, from Old English wreċċa (“an exile, outcast”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to follow, track; to hunt”), plus -ed (suffix forming adjectives). The word can also be analysed as wretch (“(obsolete) wretched”, adjective) plus -ed (suffix forming adjectives).
