as in villain
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
the clerk was an ungrateful wretch who stole money from his employer's cash register
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Recent Examples of wretch
The wretch in question has cut down one of the speaker’s spruce trees without his permission.
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Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2023
Had this poor wretch been well supplied with friends and money the result, as in numerous other instances, might have been different.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2023
Or would a wretch like me be saved by His amazing grace?
—Damon Young, Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2022
The song's lyrics also leave no topic off limits, touching on all that made the band wonder and wretch, with a tongue-in-cheek approach.
—Derek Scancarelli, EW.com, 12 May 2022
Washington Park neighborhood was torched by some ungrateful wretch just hours after a crowd of about 200 kids and adults lit the tree and enjoyed a night of caroling in the grassy median at Martin Luther King Drive and Garfield Boulevard.
—Rex Huppke, chicagotribune.com, 10 Dec. 2021
Ji Seong-ho is a street kid, a homeless kid, a wretch.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 4 May 2020
While many superhero shows continue to traffic in one-dimensional super villains, the sophisticated dramas give us more ambiguous wretches.
—Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2018
Smart security services may see, on smart video, that their populations get restive—but that doesn’t mean the wretches actually stop.
—Bruce Sterling, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2018
Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2023
Had this poor wretch been well supplied with friends and money the result, as in numerous other instances, might have been different.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2023
Or would a wretch like me be saved by His amazing grace?
—Damon Young, Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2022
The song's lyrics also leave no topic off limits, touching on all that made the band wonder and wretch, with a tongue-in-cheek approach.
—Derek Scancarelli, EW.com, 12 May 2022
Washington Park neighborhood was torched by some ungrateful wretch just hours after a crowd of about 200 kids and adults lit the tree and enjoyed a night of caroling in the grassy median at Martin Luther King Drive and Garfield Boulevard.
—Rex Huppke, chicagotribune.com, 10 Dec. 2021
Ji Seong-ho is a street kid, a homeless kid, a wretch.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 4 May 2020
While many superhero shows continue to traffic in one-dimensional super villains, the sophisticated dramas give us more ambiguous wretches.
—Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2018
Smart security services may see, on smart video, that their populations get restive—but that doesn’t mean the wretches actually stop.
—Bruce Sterling, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wretch
Noun
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Also tossed in are picturesque but gratuitous use of famous tourist landmarks as background, near-superheroic training montages, credible intimate character dynamics, a ruthless villain (Johan Heldenbergh as Vanaken) and action that in the home stretch goes absurdly over-the-top.Dennis Harvey, Variety, 13 Jan. 2025
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And though Young and (especially) the perpetrators of the massacre are clearly the villains of the piece, their past history at least partly explains their choices.Keith Phipps, Vulture, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Maliki is a divisive brute whom Iran supports to the hilt.Dov Friedman, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2014
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One million doctors to give care, 1.4 million brutes in cubicles doing their best to stop doctors from giving that care.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Set in a new location with new monsters, Wilds introduces a new type of mount, new monsters, an improved wound system, focus mode, and a new tool called the hook slinger.David Faris, Newsweek, 18 Jan. 2025
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Are we meant to sympathize with this creature as people scream in terror and call it a monster and attack it and scream for it to be shot?Erik Kain, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Often regarded by historians as a collection of savage tribes, the Scythians emerge as a pivotal force of the ancient world in this monumental history.The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2023
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Nearly 32 years ago, Rodney King’s savage beating by police in Los Angeles prompted heartfelt calls for change.Aaron Morrison, Claudia Lauer and Adrian Sainz, Anchorage Daily News, 29 Jan. 2023
Noun
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And there are folk devils being made all around us, so maybe another Nosferatu adaptation is more necessary than ever.Maya Ibbitson, Architectural Digest, 23 Dec. 2024
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Well of Radiance-using devil Exo as my big pull who is yes, better than all my other characters instantly.Paul Tassi, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Other potential responses focus on the perpetrators rather than the puppeteers, prosecuting the petty criminals who carry out acts of sabotage or, in the Baltic Sea, boarding and impounding the offending vessel, as Finland did recently, and following up with a court case.Tamar Jacoby, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
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In her petition, Conley wrote that deploying CHP officers and Solano County sheriff's deputies to Vallejo could help address crime, serve as a deterrent to potential criminals and provide support to an overworked police force.Louis Casiano, Fox News, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Yet Blake doesn’t leave unscathed, as he’s scratched by a beast that looks suspiciously lycanthropic.William Earl, Variety, 17 Jan. 2025
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During the ruckus, Blake is gashed by the beast, beginning his gradual transformation and degeneration into a Wolf Man.Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Now that movie’s writer-director, Leigh Whannell, has returned to bring another classic fiend into the 21st century, with Poor Things scoundrel Christopher Abbott as a family man who starts feeling a little hairy after a full-moon encounter at his childhood home.A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2025
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That this once-relevant scoundrel's fall from something like grace uplifts so many is a testament to the joy to be found in seeing a cocky operator get his overdue comeuppance.Dan Perry, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Wretch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wretch. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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