wretched

Word family

wretch·ed /ˈretʃɪd/ adjectiveadj

1 SAD/UNHAPPYSYMPATHIZEsomeone who is wretched is very unhappy or ill, and you feel sorry for them 极不愉快的；病得很重的；极不幸的

the poor, wretched girl

极其不幸的可怜姑娘

2 if you feel wretched, you feel guilty and unhappy because of something bad that you have done 〔由于做了不好的事〕感到愧疚的，难过的

Guy felt wretched about it now.

现在盖伊对那件事觉得很愧疚。

3 [only before noun]ANNOY making you feel annoyed or angry 令人恼怒的；使人愤怒的

Where is that wretched boy?

那个可恶的男孩在哪里？

4 literaryBAD extremely bad or unpleasant 恶劣的；糟糕的 SYN miserable

I was shocked to see their wretched living conditions.

看到他们恶劣的生活条件我很震惊。

—wretchedly adverbadv

—wretchedness noun [uncountableU]

Examples from the Corpus

wretched• Billy lay on the bed, wretched and close to tears.• Why couldn't she put the image of that wretched man out of her mind?• I don't want to have Nicky Scott Wilson fussing round me like a wretched nanny while you're away.• a lonely and wretched old man• It was a venue of pathos and prayers, a wretched place for passengers concerned with their welfare.• wretched poverty• the wretched state of American television• They were no longer the oppressed, wretched teen menials who must take orders, toe the line.• The really wretched thing is, it can only get worse for me.• There was nothing to do but put the wretched thing on.• With a violent drunkard for a husband, he thought, that wretched woman must lead a life of terror.

Origin wretched

(1100-1200) wretch

wretch·ed adjectiveadj

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus