miserable

adjective

mis·​er·​a·​ble

ˈmi-zər-bəl,

ˈmiz-rə-,

ˈmi-zə-rə- 

1

: being in a pitiable state of distress or unhappiness (as from want or shame)

miserable refugees

2

a

: wretchedly inadequate or meager (see meager sense 2)

a miserable hovel

b

: causing extreme discomfort or unhappiness

a miserable situation

miserable weather

his miserable childhood

3

: being likely to discredit or shame

his miserable neglect of his wife

had a miserable, snide contempt for our country

—Joyce Winslow

miserable noun

miserableness noun

miserably

ˈmi-zər-blē

ˈmiz-rə-

ˈmi-zə-rə- 

adverb

Synonyms

• black
• bleak
• cheerless
• chill
• Cimmerian
• cloudy
• cold
• comfortless
• dark
• darkening
• depressing
• depressive
• desolate
• dire
• disconsolate
• dismal
• drear
• dreary
• dreich [chiefly Scottish]
• elegiac
• elegiacal
• forlorn
• funereal
• gloomy
• glum
• godforsaken
• gray
• grey
• lonely
• lonesome
• lugubrious
• morbid
• morose
• murky
• plutonian
• saturnine
• sepulchral
• solemn
• somber
• sombre
• sullen
• sunless
• tenebrific
• tenebrous
• wretched

Examples of miserable in a Sentence

He had a miserable childhood.

My boss is making my life thoroughly miserable with her constant demands and criticism.

He felt lonely and miserable after his divorce.

I've had a miserable cold for the past week.

He lived in a miserable little shack.

Recent Examples on the Web

Marlins star Jazz Chisholm was miserable his first 3 years in Miami. —Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2024

The Aztecs shot a miserable 22.7 percent from 3, missing 17 of 22 attempts. —Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2024

Yet even a single miserable, medically caused death was meaningful to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where Carol Rosen was among more than 1,000 patients treated with fluoropyrimidine in 2021. —Arthur Allen | Kff Health News, NBC News, 27 Mar. 2024

But growing up in New Mexico, hiking in the Sandia and Sangre de Cristo mountains was a typical weekend activity and taught me one invaluable lesson: Having the right hiking boots is the difference between an amazing hike and a miserable one. —Hannah Freedman, Travel + Leisure, 25 Mar. 2024

Aurora and Griffin were asymptomatic, but Mom and Dad were miserable and lacked the energy to keep their very active kids sufficiently entertained. —Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 5 Apr. 2024

So much of the internet is miserable these days: harassment, bad faith, cruelty. —Camille Butera, WIRED, 1 Apr. 2024

Aubry Tourvel is not only miserable wandering the world in exile, but also engaged in her own little insurrection against forces larger than herself. —Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024

My colleagues and even my boss appear miserable and often treat me rudely. —Harriette Cole, The Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin miserabilis wretched, pitiable, from miserari to pity, from miser

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing miserable

• (as) miserable as sin

Kids Definition

miserable

adjective

mis·​er·​a·​ble ˈmiz-ər-bəl 

ˈmiz-(ə-)rə-bəl

1

a

: shabby in condition or quality

a miserable place to live

b

: causing great discomfort or unhappiness

a miserable cold

2

: extremely poor or unhappy : wretched

3

: pitiful sense 1, lamentable

miserableness noun

miserably

-blē 

adverb