Standard Lemma guide

wretchedness

noun · 5 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

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  • /ˈɹɛt͡ʃɪdnəs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An unhappy state of mental or physical suffering.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: misery, unhappiness, blueness, tristesse, mirthless, blues, crestfallenness, dejection, depression, despondency, distress, dolefulness, downheartedness, drearihead, forlornness, grief, heartsore, ill-being, infelicity, melancholia, melancholy, mishappiness, mourn, prosternation, regret, rue, ruth, sadness, sorrow, sorrowfulness, tristfulness, undelight, woe, woefare, wretchedness

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A state of prolonged misfortune, privation, or anguish.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the quality of being poor and inferior and sorry

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he has compiled a record second to none in its wretchedness

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: inferiority, low quality

4

noun

Meaning 4

the character of being uncomfortable and unpleasant

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the wretchedness for which these prisons became known
  • the grey wretchedness of the rain

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: discomfort, uncomfortableness

5

noun

Meaning 5

a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the misery and wretchedness of those slums is intolerable

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: misery, miserableness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: ill-being

Narrower terms: concentration camp, living death, suffering, woe

History

Etymology

From Middle English wrecchednesse; equivalent to wretched + -ness.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Azerbaijani: miskinlik — an unhappy state of mental or physical suffering
  • German: Erbarmungswürdigkeit — an unhappy state of mental or physical suffering
  • German: Armseligkeit — an unhappy state of mental or physical suffering
  • German: Erbärmlichkeit — an unhappy state of mental or physical suffering
  • Indonesian: kenistaan — an unhappy state of mental or physical suffering
  • Plautdietsch: Älent — an unhappy state of mental or physical suffering
  • Ottoman Turkish: شقا (şaka) — an unhappy state of mental or physical suffering