Standard Lemma guide

miserable

adj · noun · 15 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: M IH1 Z ER0 AH0 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: M IH1 Z R AH0 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

In a state of misery: very sad, ill, or poor.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out, chapfallen, cheerless, chopfallen, crestfallen, cut up, damp, dejected, depressed, despondent, disgruntled, disconsolate, disheartened, dismal, doleful, dolesome, down, down in the dumps, down in the mouth, downcast, downhearted, downsome, dull, elegiac, elegious, forlorn, gloomy, glum, grief-stricken, grieving, heavy-hearted, heartsore, heartsick, inconsolable, infelicitous, jawfallen, joyless, lachrymose, lamentful, low, low-spirited, lugubrious, lumpish, melancholic, melancholy, miserable, moody, mopey, morose, mournful, passionate, plaintive, Plutonian, Plutonic, querulous, ruthful, sad, saddened, saturnine, shattered, solemn, sombre, sorrowful, sorrow-ridden, sorrowsome, spiritless, sullen, threnetic, threnetical, triste, tristful, uncheerful, uncheery, unconsolable, unhappy, unlively, wistful, woe, woebegone, woeful, wretched

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Very bad (at something); unskilled, incompetent; hopeless.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • He's good at some sports, like tennis, but he's just miserable at football.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: amateurish, backwards, bad, bungling, clumsy, ham-fisted, ham-handed, inapt, incapable, incompetent, ineffective, inept, inexpert, maladroit, miserable, noob, unable, unprofessional, unqualified, unskillful

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Of the weather, extremely unpleasant due to being cold, wet, overcast, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cheerless, comfortless, bleak, dark, morose, depressing, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, doleful, dolesome, drear, drearisome, dreary, dreich, forlorn, gayless, gray, gloomsome, gloomy, grim, joyless, lack-laughter, lugubrious, melancholy, mirthless, miserable, no joke, saturnine, solemn, somber, sombre, spiritless, sullen, sunless, uncheerful, uncheery, unhappy, unmerry, wintry, woeful

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Wretched; worthless; mean; contemptible.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • a miserable sinner

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abject, filthy, base, beggarly, blameworthy, carrion, cheap, choical, contemptible, cringing, damnable, dedecorous, degraded, deplorable, deridable, derisible, despicable, despisable, dirty, discreditable, disdainable, disgraceful, dishonorable, disreputable, execrable, groveling, hylic, hylical, ignoble, ignominious, inglorious, lame, laughable, loathsome, lousy, low, ludicrous, mean, mean-spirited, miserable, obscene, outrageous, paltry, pathetic, pissass, pitiable, pitiful, plebeian, punk, putrid, reprehensible, reprehensive, reptile, reptilian, reptitious, ridiculous, risible, roynish, scabbed, scald, scornworthy, scummy, scurvy, shabby, shameful, shit, sleazy, slavish, slimy, sordid, sorry, trashy, ugly, uncommendable, uncool, unmentionable, unwashed, unsophisticated, unworthy, vile, vulgar, weak, worthless, wretched, floccinaucinihilipilificatious, foolish, for the birds, futile, frivolous, idle, ignorable, immaterial, inconsequential, inconsiderable, indifferent, insignificant, like a fart in a windstorm, meager, minor, negligible, nothingburger, nondescript, null, petty, picayune, picayunish, piddling, piddly, pissant, piteous, pointless, silly, simple, slight, ticky-tacky, tin-pot, trifling, trivial, two-bit, unimportant, unweighty, vain

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

Causing unhappiness or misery.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: atrabiliary, atrabilious, deplorable, depressing, distressing, grievous, heartbreaking, heartrending, miserable, lamentable, lachrymable, mournful, regrettable, rueful, sad, saddening, sorrowful, tragic, unhappy, upsetting, woebegone, woeful

Antonyms: none provided

6

adj

Meaning 6

Avaricious; niggardly; miserly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: as tight as Dick's hatband, cheap, cheeseparing, chintzy, close, close as wax, close-fisted, illiberal, mean, miserable, miserly, narrow-fisted, niggardly, nipcheese, parsimonious, peddling, penny-wise, penny-pinching, penurious, scrooge-like, scrubby, shabby, still got one's communion money, stingy, swear, tight, tight-fisted, tight as a tick, tighter than Dick's hatband, ungenerous, ungiving, acquisitive, avaricious, cormorant, covetous, edacious, esurient, grasping, greedy, piggish, rapacious, selfish, sordid, sharp-set, voracious

Antonyms: none provided

7

adj

Meaning 7

Negative minded, unpleasant to be around.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

A miserable person; a wretch.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

A state of misery or melancholy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: in-plural, informal, with-definite-article

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

adjective satellite

Meaning 10

contemptibly small in amount

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a measly tip
  • the company donated a miserable $100 for flood relief
  • a paltry wage
  • almost depleted his miserable store of dried beans

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: measly, paltry

Antonyms: none provided

11

adjective satellite

Meaning 11

characterized by physical misery

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a wet miserable weekend
  • spent a wretched night on the floor

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: wretched

Antonyms: none provided

12

adjective satellite

Meaning 12

of the most contemptible kind

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • abject cowardice
  • a low stunt to pull
  • a low-down sneak
  • his miserable treatment of his family
  • You miserable skunk!
  • a scummy rabble
  • a scurvy trick

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abject, low, low-down, scummy, scurvy

Antonyms: none provided

13

adjective satellite

Meaning 13

deserving or inciting pity- Galsworthy

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a hapless victim
  • miserable victims of war
  • the shabby room struck her as extraordinarily pathetic
  • piteous appeals for help
  • pitiable homeless children
  • a pitiful fate
  • Oh, you poor thing
  • his poor distorted limbs
  • a wretched life

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hapless, misfortunate, pathetic, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, poor, wretched

Antonyms: none provided

14

adjective satellite

Meaning 14

very unhappy; full of misery

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he felt depressed and miserable
  • a message of hope for suffering humanity
  • wretched prisoners huddled in stinking cages

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: suffering, wretched

Antonyms: none provided

15

adjective satellite

Meaning 15

of very poor quality or condition

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • deplorable housing conditions in the inner city
  • woeful treatment of the accused
  • woeful errors of judgment

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: deplorable, execrable, woeful, wretched

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French miserable, from Old French, from Latin miserabilis, equivalent to miser + -able.

Across languages

Translations

116 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: miserabel — in a state of misery
  • Arabic: بَائِس (bāʔis) — in a state of misery
  • Arabic: مسْكين (məskin) — in a state of misery
  • Arabic: مسْكينة (məskina) — in a state of misery
  • Armenian: դժբախտ (džbaxt) — in a state of misery
  • Asturian: mísere — in a state of misery
  • Asturian: cativu — in a state of misery
  • Azerbaijani: acınacaqlı — in a state of misery
  • Azerbaijani: miskin — in a state of misery
  • Bulgarian: окаян (okajan) — in a state of misery
  • Bulgarian: злочест (zločest) — in a state of misery
  • Catalan: trist — in a state of misery
  • Catalan: desgraciat — in a state of misery
  • Catalan: miserable — in a state of misery
  • Chinese Cantonese: 悲慘 /悲惨 (bei1 caam2) — in a state of misery
  • Chinese Cantonese: 慘 /惨 (caam2) — in a state of misery
  • Chinese Cantonese: 淒慘 /凄惨/悽慘 /凄惨 (cai1 caam2) — in a state of misery
  • Hakka Chinese: 悲慘 /悲惨 (pî-chhám) — in a state of misery
  • Hakka Chinese: 慘 /惨 (chhám) — in a state of misery
  • Hakka Chinese: 淒慘 /凄惨/悽慘 /凄惨 (chhî-chhám) — in a state of misery
  • Chinese: 悲慘 /悲惨 (zh-min-nan) — in a state of misery
  • Chinese: 淒慘 /凄惨/悽慘 /凄惨 (zh-min-nan) — in a state of misery
  • Chinese: 慘 /惨 (chhám) — in a state of misery
  • Chinese Mandarin: 悲慘 /悲惨 (bēicǎn) — in a state of misery
  • Chinese Mandarin: 慘 /惨 (cǎn) — in a state of misery
  • Chinese Mandarin: 淒慘 /凄惨/悽慘 /凄惨 (qīcǎn) — in a state of misery
  • Cornish: moredhek — in a state of misery
  • Czech: nešťastný — in a state of misery
  • Czech: bědný — in a state of misery
  • Danish: elendig — in a state of misery
  • Esperanto: mizera — in a state of misery
  • Finnish: kurja — in a state of misery
  • French: misérable — in a state of misery
  • Galician: miserábel — in a state of misery
  • German: elend — in a state of misery
  • German: erbärmlich — in a state of misery
  • German: jämmerlich — in a state of misery
  • German: miserabel — in a state of misery
  • Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌷𐍃 (wainahs) — in a state of misery
  • Greek: άθλιος (áthlios) — in a state of misery
  • Ancient Greek: ἄθλιος (áthlios) — in a state of misery
  • Ancient Greek: μέλεος (méleos) — in a state of misery
  • Ancient Greek: δύστηνος (dústēnos) — in a state of misery
  • Gujarati: દુઃખી (duḥkhī) — in a state of misery
  • Gujarati: કંગાળ (kaṅgāḷ) — in a state of misery
  • Haitian Creole: mizerab — in a state of misery
  • Hebrew: אֻמְלָל (umlál) — in a state of misery
  • Hebrew: מסכן (miskén) — in a state of misery
  • Hindi: दुःखी (duḥkhī) — in a state of misery
  • Hindi: उदास (udās) — in a state of misery
  • Hindi: दयनीय (daynīya) — in a state of misery
  • Hungarian: nyomorult — in a state of misery
  • Icelandic: ömurlegur — in a state of misery
  • Icelandic: ömurleg — in a state of misery
  • Icelandic: ömurlegt — in a state of misery
  • Irish: aimléiseach — in a state of misery
  • Irish: ainnis — in a state of misery
  • Irish: anóiteach — in a state of misery
  • Irish: galair — in a state of misery
  • Japanese: 惨めな (mijime na) — in a state of misery
  • Japanese: 悲惨な (hisan na) — in a state of misery
  • Korean: 불행한 상황 (bulhaenghan sanghwang) — in a state of misery
  • Latin: miser — in a state of misery
  • Manchu: ᡤᠣᠰᡳᡥᠣᠨ (gosihon) — in a state of misery
  • Māori: tiwhatiwha — in a state of misery
  • Māori: kōtonga — in a state of misery
  • Middle English: myschevous — in a state of misery
  • Norman: mînséthabl'ye — in a state of misery
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kummerlig — in a state of misery
  • Old English: earm — in a state of misery
  • Polish: nędzny — in a state of misery
  • Polish: nieszczęśliwy — in a state of misery
  • Portuguese: miserável — in a state of misery
  • Romanian: mizerabil — in a state of misery
  • Romanian: nenorocit — in a state of misery
  • Romanian: mizer — in a state of misery
  • Russian: несча́стный (nesčástnyj) — in a state of misery
  • Russian: бе́дный (bédnyj) — in a state of misery
  • Sanskrit: दीन (dīna) — in a state of misery
  • Scottish Gaelic: brònach — in a state of misery
  • Spanish: miserable — in a state of misery
  • Spanish: mísero — in a state of misery
  • Tày: cáo vá — in a state of misery
  • Tocharian B: anās — in a state of misery
  • Ottoman Turkish: فقیر (fakir) — in a state of misery
  • Ukrainian: неща́сний (neščásnyj) — in a state of misery
  • Ukrainian: неща́сна (neščásna) — in a state of misery
  • Vietnamese: khốn khổ — in a state of misery
  • Volapük: miserabik — in a state of misery
  • Walloon: mizeråve — in a state of misery
  • Walloon: pôvriteus — in a state of misery
  • Walloon: pôvriteuse — in a state of misery
  • Walloon: minåve — in a state of misery
  • Welsh: penisel — in a state of misery
  • Welsh: diflas — in a state of misery
  • Afrikaans: miserabel — very bad (at)
  • Bulgarian: лош (loš) — very bad (at)
  • Czech: mizerný — very bad (at)
  • Finnish: kurja — very bad (at)
  • Finnish: avuton — very bad (at)
  • German: miserabel — very bad (at)
  • Greek: κακός (kakós) — very bad (at)
  • Greek: αξιοθρήνητος (axiothrínitos) — very bad (at)
  • Hebrew: גרוע (garúa) — very bad (at)
  • Hebrew: מחורבן (mekhurbán) — very bad (at)
  • Hungarian: gyatra — very bad (at)
  • Hungarian: pocsék — very bad (at)
  • Japanese: 下手な (heta na) — very bad (at)
  • Portuguese: horrível — very bad (at)
  • Russian: неуме́лый (neumélyj) — very bad (at)
  • Finnish: kurja — wretched
  • Ancient Greek: ἄθλιος (áthlios) — wretched
  • Irish: dearóil — wretched
  • Latin: miser — wretched
  • Māori: tureikura — wretched
  • Middle English: myschevous — wretched
Real reading context

miserable in complete knowledge articles