wretchedness

noun

Definition of wretchednessnext
1
as in misery

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
2
as in baseness

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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 wretchedness As our cantankerous lead, Molina harumphs lovably from scene to scene, conveying both his character’s indomitable will and the wretchedness of his grief. — Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 31 May 2026 Director Penny Lane interviews jazz critics who howl at his wretchedness, then balances it with fans who simply don’t care. — Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wretchedness
  1. misery
  2. baseness
  3. destitution
  4. meanness
  5. poverty
  6. miserableness
  7. woe
  8. criminality
Noun
  • Adding to the misery, Jason Sanders — a longtime Dolphins kicker in his first season with the Jets — hit the right upright on a 40-yard try.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
  • With Dunham as creator, showrunner and star, the original series ran from 2012 to 2017 and followed a group of friends through the misery and dysfunction of their 20s in New York City.
    — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of misery
Noun
  • The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
Definition of baseness
Noun
  • The disagreement, then, is not over whether government should prevent destitution in old age.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Becoming a YouTuber had seemed like a way for Chism to stop sliding toward destitution.
    — Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of destitution
Noun
  • Thus, under the name of Order and Civil Government, we are all made at last to pay homage to and support our own meanness.
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Don’t give in to that meanness, and that false belief in scarcity.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of meanness
Noun
  • Our adversaries are climate change, the threat of nuclear war, hunger, poverty and disease, not China.
    — Letters to the Editor, Hartford Courant, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Well into her 90s, Huerta traveled across the country to speak about race, poverty, and women’s rights on behalf of the Dolores Huerta Foundation based in Bakersfield, California.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of poverty
Noun
  • Luke and Kristen squabble for the entirety of the trip, which only adds to its miserableness.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 18 June 2026
Definition of miserableness
Noun
  • Simon Wohlfahrt | Afp | Getty Images As France’s economic and political woes mount, investors are asking whether the country’s debt problems risk contaminating the rest of the euro zone.
    — Jenni Reid,Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Rams’ injury woes continued Thursday when star receiver Puka Nacua left practice because of a calf injury, a team official said.
    — Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of woe
Noun
  • Election experts have said many instances of noncitizens registering to vote are a result of administrative error or confusion on the part of the immigrant — not intentional criminality.
    — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Investigators, however, believe there was no criminality and that the cause was an electrical fire in one of the fifth-floor apartments.
    — Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of criminality

Browse Nearby Words

wretchedly
wretchedness
wretches
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wretchedness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wretchedness. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of wraith

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All