wretched

adjective

wretch·​ed ˈre-chəd 

1

: deeply afflicted, dejected, or distressed in body or mind

2

: extremely or deplorably bad or distressing

was in wretched health

a wretched accident

3

a

: being or appearing mean, miserable, or contemptible

dressed in wretched old clothes

b

: very poor in quality or ability : inferior

wretched workmanship

wretchedly adverb

wretchedness noun

Synonyms

• atrocious
• awful
• dismal
• execrable
• horrible
• lousy
• punk
• rotten
• sucky [slang]
• terrible

Examples of wretched in a Sentence

The slums were filled with poor, wretched children.

I don't know what's wrong with her, but she looks wretched.

families living in wretched poverty

the wretched conditions of the refugee camp

How did we get into this wretched state of affairs?

What a wretched performance that was.

That movie was positively wretched.

Recent Examples on the Web

Mings watched on from the Wembley steps as an unused substitute during the wretched FA Cup semi-final defeat to Crystal Palace, many fans believing his skill set was better suited to deal with Palace’s counter-attacking threat. —Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 14 May 2025

Fernandes, who’s been at Old Trafford since 2020, chalked up 19 goals and 20 assists in all competitions during a wretched 2024/25 campaign for the Red Devils. —Henry Flynn, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025

Fair enough — the club is playing wretched baseball, and some responsibility for that goes to the manager. —Tim Britton, New York Times, 13 May 2025

The Baltimore Orioles fired manager Brandon Hyde last week after a wretched start to the season, which followed a winter in which general manager Mike Elias could not land an upper-tier arm to improve the pitching staff. —Andy McCullough, New York Times, 21 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English wrecched, expansion (with -ed -ed entry 1) of wrecche, adjective, in same sense, going back to Old English wrecc, derivative from the base of wræcca, wrecce "exile, stranger, despicable person" — more at wretch

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

wretched

adjective

wretch·​ed ˈrech-əd 

1

: very miserable or unhappy

2

: causing misery or distress

that wretched accident

3

: deserving of hatred or disgust

a wretched trick

4

: very poor in quality or ability

wretched work

wretchedly adverb

wretchedness noun