wretched

1 of 2

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

wretchedness

2 of 2

noun

wretch·​ed·​ness

plural -es

: the quality or state of being wretched : distress or hardship that is caused especially by deprivation or affliction

Synonyms of wretched

Adjective

• terrible
• horrible
• poor
• awful

Examples of wretched in a Sentence

Adjective

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

Adjective

But tensions escalated over Memorial Day weekend as hundreds of detainees went on a hunger strike to protest spoiled food and wretched conditions, some of their lawyers said. —David Williams, CNN Money, 29 May 2026

Even with the Tigers’ grisly combination of injury misfortune and wretched play, their season is not yet over. —Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 26 May 2026

The wretched conditions prompt a brainy clerk (Eiza González, who expounds impressively on the heady Marxist concept of dialectical materialism) to join the Velvet Gang. —Randy Myers, Mercury News, 19 May 2026

Everything in this screen world is heightened, slightly off-kilter, but entirely plausible (with the exception being Ruby’s wretched body, still burning after all these years). —Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 15 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

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

Noun

Middle English wrecchednesse, from wrecched wretched + -nesse -ness

First Known Use

Adjective

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