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

• horrible
• terrible
• awful
• poor
• rotten

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

When the din inside Rams Park had finally subsided, Arne Slot attempted to put a positive spin on a wretched night for Liverpool. —James Pearce, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025

Yes, Baltimore’s defense is wretched, so don’t count on this being a cure-all, exactly. —Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025

The essence of the Rockies’ wretched season was illustrated in the first inning of loss No. 119. —Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 28 Sep. 2025

Rather, the wretched truth is a reminder that history’s wins are often, if not always, accompanied by terrible loss — that, sometimes, what was cast as victory may have actually been defeat. —Andrea Williams, Nashville Tennessean, 27 Sep. 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