1
as in poorly
in an unsatisfactory way
the whole hockey team played wretchedly that night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
we're wretchedly disappointed in you for behaving so irresponsibly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wretchedly
The Eastern Europeans—Yiddish Jews, Kimmel calls them—were poor, wretchedly so.
—
Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wretchedly
Adverb
-
Poor sleep affects everyone Ninety-five percent of all caregivers agreed that good sleep is essential to overall family function, and nearly 80% said their own sleep suffers when their child sleeps poorly, the poll found.—
Lily Hautau,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Ground-penetrating radar can detect nonmetallic objects but performs poorly in wet or uneven terrain, or ground covered by vegetation, and often generates high false-alarm rates.—
Sagar Lekhak,
The Conversation,
5 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Behind the front, bitterly cold Arctic air filters back into the area.—
Andrew Kozak,
CBS News,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Since October last year, Russia has intensified its drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian energy system, knocking out electricity and heat and plunging millions of Ukrainians into long blackouts during bitterly cold winter temperatures.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
There were no debates involved, no refs called in, no bad-mouthing.—
Julia Frankel,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The dialogue sometimes lapses from bad-funny to just bad.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
21 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Mohammad and one of his sons, who was a Lebanese soldier, were killed, while the other was badly hurt.—
Justin Salhani,
The Dial,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Getting a stopper was something the team badly needed.—
Dom Luszczyszyn,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Western civilization has created incredible innovation and achievements, while sadly slavery and colonialism will always be a part of history.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Short term, the answer is, sadly, yes.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
8 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
The hug is so painfully welcome.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Progress has been painfully slow, stalled by gaps in technical knowledge, cost overruns and the extreme caution required to deal with an unprecedented accident of such magnitude.—
Yusuke Maekawa,
Bloomberg,
8 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
For their part, Democratic leaders spoke mournfully of limits, of energy shortages, of national decline, of a crisis of confidence itself.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Based on the Dylan Thomas prose poem of the same name, published in 1952, the film lovingly and mournfully depicts the boyhood Christmastime of an old Welshman, tenderly and a tad mischievously embodied by Elliott.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wretchedly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wretchedly. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
