1
: deeply afflicted, dejected, or distressed in body or mind
2
: extremely or deplorably bad or distressing
was in wretched health
a wretched accident
3
a
: being or appearing mean, miserable, or contemptible
dressed in wretched old clothes
b
: very poor in quality or ability : inferior
wretched workmanship
wretchedly
adverb
wretchedness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of wretched in a Sentence
The slums were filled with poor, wretched children.
I don't know what's wrong with her, but she looks wretched.
families living in wretched poverty
the wretched conditions of the refugee camp
How did we get into this wretched state of affairs?
What a wretched performance that was.
That movie was positively wretched.
Recent Examples on the Web
The quirky, engaging film centers on the wretched and lonely lives of 1970s Australian twins — Grace (Sarah Snook) and Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee) — who weather rotten foster families apart after their alcoholic, paraplegic father dies.
—
Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
That all plays out in a bar, where Brock succumbs to a wretched hangover that will dog him for the first half of the movie, a cute little motif that recurs much like his quest to find a decent pair of shoes.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2024
But by the Middle Ages, Greek philosophical texts had become largely unavailable to European Christians, who believed that humans were too wretched to find the good without a supernatural deity.
—Sigal Samuel, Vox, 20 Oct. 2024
Called whooping cough for its most recognizable symptom, pertussis can be a wretched experience, particularly for babies who aren’t strong enough to withstand the wracking chest spasms.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for wretched 
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Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
That all plays out in a bar, where Brock succumbs to a wretched hangover that will dog him for the first half of the movie, a cute little motif that recurs much like his quest to find a decent pair of shoes.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2024
But by the Middle Ages, Greek philosophical texts had become largely unavailable to European Christians, who believed that humans were too wretched to find the good without a supernatural deity.
—Sigal Samuel, Vox, 20 Oct. 2024
Called whooping cough for its most recognizable symptom, pertussis can be a wretched experience, particularly for babies who aren’t strong enough to withstand the wracking chest spasms.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for wretched
Dictionary Entries Near wretched
Cite this Entry
“Wretched.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wretched. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wretched
adjective
wretch·ed
ˈrech-əd 
1
: very miserable or unhappy
2
: causing misery or distress
that wretched accident
3
: deserving of hatred or disgust
a wretched trick
4
: very poor in quality or ability
wretched work
wretchedly
adverb
wretchedness
noun
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