noun
Meaning 1
An unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
wretch
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.
-
/ɹɛt͡ʃ/
-
US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
rhymes with -ɛtʃ
-
homophone: retch
-
CMU ARPABET: R EH1 CH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
An unpleasant, annoying, worthless, or despicable person.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
An exile.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
Misspelling of retch.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, misspelling
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
someone you feel sorry for
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: poor devil
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: victim
noun
Meaning 6
performs some wicked deed
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: reprobate, miscreant
History
Etymology
From Middle English wrecche, from Old English wreċċa (“exile, outcast”), from Proto-Germanic *wrakjô (“exile, fugitive, warrior”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to track, follow”). Doublet of garçon.
From confusion with the noun.
Across languages
Translations
65 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: клетник (kletnik) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Bulgarian: нещастник (neštastnik) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Chinese Mandarin: 可怜虫 (kěliánchóng) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Czech: ubožák — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Dutch: wrak — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Dutch: ellendeling — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Egyptian: U2:ir-A-r:T12-nDs:A1 (mꜣr) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Esperanto: bedaŭrindulo — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Finnish: ressukka — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Finnish: raasu — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Finnish: poloinen — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- French: malheureux — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- French: malheureuse — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- French: misérable — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Galician: coitado — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- German: Loser — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- German: Tropf — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- German: armer Schlucker — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- German: armer Teufel — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- German: armes Schwein — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- German: armseliger Wicht — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- German: Unglücklicher — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Ancient Greek: τάλας (tálas) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Ancient Greek: τάλαινα (tálaina) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Indonesian: orang malang — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Indonesian: orang celaka — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Indonesian: bedebah — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Ingrian: raiska — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Irish: cladhaire — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Irish: aimléis — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Irish: aimleoir — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Irish: anacróir — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Irish: donán — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Irish: donóg — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Irish: tráill — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Irish: truán — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Italian: miserabile — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Italian: iellato — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Italian: omuncolo — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Italian: straccio — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Italian: tapino — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Macedonian: бедник (bednik) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Macedonian: несреќник (nesreḱnik) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Macedonian: клетник (kletnik) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Macedonian: јадник (jadnik) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Macedonian: жалник (žalnik) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Polish: biedak — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Portuguese: miserável — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Portuguese: desgraçado — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Portuguese: coitado — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Romanian: nenorocit — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Romanian: nefericit — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Russian: бедня́га (bednjága) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Russian: бедня́жка (bednjážka) — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Spanish: desgraciado — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Spanish: desventurado — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Spanish: desgraciada — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Spanish: desventurada — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Swedish: stackare — unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- Chinese Mandarin: 坏蛋 (huàidàn) — unpleasant, annoying person
- Czech: ničema — unpleasant, annoying person
- German: elender Wicht — unpleasant, annoying person
- Macedonian: никаквец (nikakvec) — unpleasant, annoying person
- Macedonian: подлец (podlec) — unpleasant, annoying person
- Swedish: usling — unpleasant, annoying person