ˈmi-zər-bəl
1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
spent the night in a miserable jail cell
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unhappy
feeling unhappiness
the awful news made us miserable
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3
as in terrible
of low quality
a miserable meal that I wouldn't feed to a dog
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4
as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
a miserable little apartment
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5
as in poor
deserving of one's pity
miserable refugees from the war-torn country
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6
as in pathetic
deserving pitying scorn (as for inadequacy)
that ugly mutt is one miserable excuse for a dog
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of miserable
Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 8 May 2026
And Charlotte is done being miserable.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 7 May 2026
Allergies can be miserable but manageable – even in an overproductive year like much of America is seeing in 2026.
—Levi Keller, The Conversation, 5 May 2026
Airlines are first and foremost a service industry, and Spirit could not overcome its extraordinarily miserable reputation.
—Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for miserable
Adjective
Four trusted her enough to go on the record, and on camera, shining a light for the first time on the heartbreaking human toll of the Palm Beach millionaire’s miserable world.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 8 May 2026
And Charlotte is done being miserable.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 7 May 2026
Allergies can be miserable but manageable – even in an overproductive year like much of America is seeing in 2026.
—Levi Keller, The Conversation, 5 May 2026
Airlines are first and foremost a service industry, and Spirit could not overcome its extraordinarily miserable reputation.
—Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for miserable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for miserable
Adjective
-
The job market is showing intermittent signs of recovery after a bleak 2025.—
Paul Wiseman,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
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The outlook appeared so bleak that Alexey Miranchuk gestured to the heavens and said, if the team could acquire help from a higher power and get a road win, maybe the ship could be steered in the right direction.—
Amna Subhan,
AJC.com,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
Wait times, and particularly in the emergency department, wait times were skyrocketing, patient satisfaction, and everybody was just generally unhappy.—
Torie Bosch,
STAT,
9 May 2026
-
Sources have told Deadline that Fox was originally unhappy with the creative on Season 14 of the show, but collaborated with the creative team and was ultimately sated.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
8 May 2026
Adjective
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Now, nearly two years later, the school finds itself in a terrible spot, as accusations of serious misconduct arise and an investigation by the athletic department heats up.—
Trey Wallace OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
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And, betting on terrible outcomes doesn't signify what the better actually wants to happen.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
Zaragoza stationed his men on the high ground, hidden behind cacti, behind walls of dilapidated forts, in ditches.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
4 May 2026
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Longtime Oak Lawn Village Board member Timothy Desmond has resigned from his post to enter into a contract with the village through his home building company to restore dilapidated properties, with the goal of putting them back on the tax rolls.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Harper opened a small dance studio, on Forty-sixth Street; business was poor until Bradley was hired and revamped Delroy’s act.—
Brian Seibert,
New Yorker,
13 May 2026
-
Still vehicle electronics can be damaged from reverse polarity, poor or wrong connection points or voltage spikes from improper equipment.—
Hartford Courant,
Hartford Courant,
12 May 2026
Adjective
-
Just a pathetic, sad old man who hated the world and spent his days in solitude.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
-
The man who has been on fire since the Knicks first tipped off against the Atlanta Hawks shot a ghastly — nay, a pathetic — 53 percent from the field.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
The Titanic is still a subject of worldwide fascination, in part because of the range of passengers aboard the ship, from paupers to plutocrats.—
Jill Lawless,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Apr. 2026
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The Titanic is still a subject of worldwide fascination, in part because of the range of passengers aboard the ship, from paupers to plutocrats.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
18 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Soon afterward, with minimal warning, my mother moved to a small white farmhouse on a lonely hillside in rural New Hampshire.—
Nicholas Dawidoff,
New Yorker,
10 May 2026
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But being an anti-Trump Republican has become a lonelier job in recent years as the party establishment’s support solidified behind Trump during the historically successful campaign in 2024 that returned him to the White House.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Miserable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/miserable. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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