as in brutes
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
the clerk was an ungrateful wretch who stole money from his employer's cash register
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wretches
Noun
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For much of his career, Skarsgård has gravitated toward characters who weaponize physical presence — Vikings, tech titans and mythic brutes whose power is immediately legible.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026 -
Credit to producers Tim Zinnemann and George Linder for selecting a veritable array of brutes to wage battle with Arnold.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Even the Dodgers, the cartoon villains of spending, kind of sort of have a limit.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
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Head coach Patty Gasso and her bunch remain the biggest villains in the Texas softball universe.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Or Irish, in a time when they were seen as savages by the Englishmen?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Roadrunners, javelinas and gila monsters thrive here, and petroglyphs can be found on rocks in the western district of the park.—
Graham Averill,
Outside,
23 Feb. 2026
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With the ninth main entry in the franchise, Resident Evil Requiem, the monsters show no sign of slowing down.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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There are sounds and shadows in the forest; the Devil, or devils, may be walking the earth.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
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And then there are the infernal workers who make sure that Lucifer’s realm runs smoothly, among them farting devils, giants in chains, and a flying monster with the body of a serpent and the face of an honest man.—
Eric Bulson,
The Atlantic,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities.—
Jeff Capellini,
CBS News,
20 Feb. 2026
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His office is more concerned about arresting police officers than prosecuting criminals.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Over the last several years, changes in the law and an evolving approach regarding youth offenders cleared the way for Williams to ask to have his sentence vacated on the grounds that it could be considered de facto life without parole.—
Teri Figueroa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Feb. 2026
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Now, the rules committee might propose removing that carryover suspension for first-time offenders, on the basis that an ejection is plenty harsh and doesn’t need to affect an unrelated game.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Wretches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wretches. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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