wretched

adjective

wretch·ed | \ˈre-chəd

Definition of wretched

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

2 : extremely or deplorably bad or distressing was in wretched health a wretched accident

3a : being or appearing mean, miserable, or contemptible dressed in wretched old clothes

b : very poor in quality or ability : inferior wretched workmanship

Other Words from wretched Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about wretched

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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

The gruesome details of Khashoggi’s murder, and the way that Turkey has seemingly fanned the flames despite its own wretched human rights record, have elevated the story to an international level. — Sean O'kane, The Verge, "The future of transportation is being underwritten by Saudi Arabia," 19 Oct. 2018 That could suggest Francis now has an elegant way of getting rid of prelates such as Chilean Cardinal Javier Errazuriz, accused by victims of being a key figure in Chile’s wretched record on abuse and cover-up. — Nicole Winfield, The Seattle Times, "Vatican promises ‘clarifications’ to pope cover-up claims," 10 Sep. 2018 But the pay is wretched and player autonomy near-nonexistent. — Jack Dickey, SI.com, "Tommy Pham Waited Forever to Make It. Now, He's Got Plenty to Say About His Journey.," 2 Apr. 2018 The Trump team quit the council on account of that body’s fixation with Israel and its inclusion of member states with wretched human rights records. — Trudy Rubin, Philly.com, "U.S. withdrawal from U.N. Human Rights Council reflects Trump hypocrisy | Trudy Rubin," 20 June 2018 Perhaps due to this wretched gravity, Hollywood waited a bit longer to cash in on the horror. — Travis M. Andrews, chicagotribune.com, "The Thai cave rescue is being made into a movie. As Hollywood's history shows, this was inevitable," 13 July 2018 The script traces the fragmentation of the wealthy, wretched, amoral Essenbeck family during the Nazi party’s rise to power. — Alexis Soloski, New York Times, "12 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend," 12 July 2018 As the holy books show, true messengers of God are a wretched lot—baffled, overwhelmed, resentful, gloomy or embarrassed. — Sam Sacks, WSJ, "Fiction: A Depraved and Beautiful Dream of the World," 12 July 2018 Fewer work out, and this is a monumental task in front of Long, to save football by completing a massive fundraising project for a wretched program, and hire a competent coach to what might be the most difficult job in major college football. — Sam Mellinger, kansascity, "Mellinger Minutes: Whit not an All-Star (?), Jeff Long and KU, Chiefs fears, Odom's crossroads," 10 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wretched.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.