[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/wretched/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [W](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/w/) / wretched

# wretched

adjective (wretched, more wretched, most wretched); adverb (wretchedly); noun (wretch)

«wretched» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Very unhappy, ill or miserable: «I felt wretched with flu.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wretched/#m1)
2. Very poor or bad in quality: «They lived in wretched huts.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wretched/#m2)
3. (informal, annoyed) Used to show you are cross with something: «This wretched computer won't work!» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wretched/#m3)
4. Wretched can also describe a person who is wicked and deserves scorn. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wretched/#m4)

### In the lessons

In stories, a wretched character is suffering — Toad feels wretched in his dungeon, and poor people in old books live in wretched conditions. In sense 3 it is a mild, annoyed word, not a swear word. In the Bible and old hymns, «a wretch like me» (Amazing Grace) means a sinful, unhappy person whom Christians believe God saves.

### Examples

- Toad felt wretched in his cold cell. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wretched/#x1)
- The wretched dog has eaten my homework! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wretched/#x2)
- The refugees lived in wretched tents. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wretched/#x3)
- I felt wretched after staying up so late. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wretched/#x4)
- «Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wretched/#x5)
- Mole felt wretched when he lost his way in the Wild Wood. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wretched/#x6)

### Note

Sounds like «RETCH-id», two syllables; the w is silent. A wretch is a miserable or bad person.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «wretched» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wretched/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«wretched» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/wretched.html) on Mova free.