wretched
adjectivecommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈɹɛt͡ʃɪd//
- United States//ˈɹɛt͡ʃəd//
Characterized by or feeling deep affliction or distress; very miserable.
adjective
- 1
Characterized by or feeling deep affliction or distress; very miserable.
I felt wretched after my wife died.
Oh (men forlorne) how wretched is our ſtate, / Whome heaven and earth oppreſſe with heapes of hate!
[W]ho might be your mother / That you inſult, exult, and all at once / Ouer the vvretched?
Sir, / vve are no Spinſters; nor, if you look upon us, / ſo vvretched as you take us.
- 2
Of an inferior or unworthy nature or social status; contemptible, lowly.
The street was full of wretched beggars dressed in rags.
From the foldings of its robe, it [the Ghost of Christmas Present] brought two children; wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable. They knelt down at its feet, and clung upon the outside of its garment.
So I have withdrawn, like a bad little boy, to conceal myself, out of spite, in one of the wretchedest villages in Saxony.
[…] Simonov would size me up, and despise me for my wretched vanity and want of spirit; […]
- 3
Of an insignificant, mean, or poor nature; miserable, paltry, worthless.
I just lack the fine motor skill. Same reason I'm a grown man who doesn't know how to use a screwdriver without looking like a retard. Oh, I'm wretched.
All those wretched quarrels, in his humble opinion, stirring up bad blood – bump of combativeness or gland of some kind, erroneously supposed to be about a punctilio of honour and a flag, – were very largely a question of the money question which was at the back of everything, greed and jealousy, people never knowing when to stop.
- 4
Of a person, etc.: behaving in a manner causing contempt; base, despicable, wicked.
But a Devil came in juſt in the God-ſpeed, and told them; Gentlemen Philoſophers, (ſays he) if you vvould knovv the VVretched'ſt, and moſt contemptible thing in the VVorld; It is an Alchymiſt: […]
A Heretic may see the truth and seek redemption. He may be forgiven his past and will be absolved in death. A Traitor can never be forgiven. A Traitor will never find peace in this world or the next. There is nothing as wretched or as hated in all the world as a Traitor.
- 5
Of weather: causing much discomfort; very unpleasant; miserable.
- 6
informalUsed to express annoyance towards or dislike of someone or something: bloody, damned.
Will you please stop playing that wretched trombone!
Etymology
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”) (from Late Old English wrecc, from Old English wreċċa (“an exile, outcast”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to follow, track; to hunt”)) + -ed (suffix forming adjectives). The English word is analysable as wretch (“(obsolete) wretched”, adjective) + -ed (suffix forming adjectives).
Forms
- comparative
- more wretched
- superlative
- most wretched
wretched · Characterized by or feeling deep affliction or distress; very miserable.
wright · A builder or maker of something.Wright · A British surname originating as an occupation from a maker…wring · Often followed by out: to squeeze or twist (something moist)…