wretchedadj.
/ˈrɛtʃᵻd/, U.S. /ˈrɛtʃəd/ 1.
a. Of persons, etc.: Living in a state of misery, poverty, or degradation; sunk in distress or dejection; very miserable or unhappy.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [adjective] > miserable or wretched
un-i-selieOE
drearyOE
unseelyOE
wretcha1122
usellc1175
unselea1200
wretcheda1200
misease?c1225
un-i-sele?c1250
wanlichec1275
miseasyc1300
wrackfulc1311
unblessed1340
wretchfula1382
wretchedful1382
caitiff1393
loddera1400
unhappena1400
pilledc1400
miserable?c1422
vengeablec1430
unhappyc1440
meschant?1473
miserousc1475
unselc1480
miser1542
forlorn1582
villainous1582
skybala1585
unblestful1608
despicable1635
haveless1868
the mind > emotion > suffering > misery > [adjective]
armlyeOE
un-i-selieOE
unledeeOE
unseelyOE
armOE
wretcha1122
unselea1200
wretcheda1200
wretchlyc1200
misease?c1225
wanlichec1275
miseasyc1300
wansomea1325
simplec1330
wretchfula1382
wretchedful1382
caitiff1393
loddera1400
desolate14..
disconsolatea1425
meschant?1473
miserousc1475
miser1542
unvisited1548
tribulate1575
happiless1582
uncomforted1583
blisslessa1586
uncomfortless1598
miserablea1616
thrallfula1618
calamitous1668
tribulated1682
donsie?1719
unsolaced1796
mis1939
α.
β. a1340 R. Rolle Psalter ii. 2 Þa ere fendis, þat bigiles wricched saules.γ. 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 24 We wratcheit sinnaris pure, Our sin hes vs forlorne.a1200 Vices & Virtues 9 Ðanne ic wolde ðe wrecchede saule sa rewliche acwellan.
a1240 Wohunge in Old Eng. Hom. I. 277 Ihesu..riche ar tu.., and tah poure þu bicom for me, westi and wrecched.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 24517 Allas! quat es me nu to red, I wrechidest of all!
c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 2426 Wreched saul,..what may thou say When þou partes fra þe body away?
c1374 G. Chaucer Anelida & Arcite 60 Þe wrechid Thebans bretheren two Were slayne.
1482 Monk of Evesham 36 I herde and sawe..the wrechid companyes of men and women ouer wrechidful bounden to gedyr.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) 1st Prol. 7 So ye vouchesafe of youre tender charyte..to praye for oure right poure & full wretched soulle.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 115 Pepul wych now lyve in idulnes wrechyd & pore.
a1592 R. Greene Comicall Hist. Alphonsus (1599) iv. sig. G1v I am..The wretcheds man aliue.
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Prophetesse iii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Eeee/2 We are no Spinsters; nor, if you look upon us, so wretched as you take us.
1647 A. Cowley Mistresse 37 What should the wretched Widow do?
?1705 G. Berkeley in A. C. Fraser Life & Lett. G. Berkeley (1871) 475 Man without God wretcheder than a stone or tree.
1795 R. Southey Vision Maid of Orleans ii. 238 A most wretched band Groan'd underneath the bitter tyranny Of a fierce dæmon.
1829 T. Hood Dream Eugene Aram in Gem 1 113 My wretched, wretched soul, I knew, Was at the Devil's price.
1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia I. v. i. 539 The poor exasperated Mother, wretchedest and angriest of women.
1882 J. Hawthorne Fortune's Fool (1883) i. xxiv A mountain of it can't make you one hair's breadth the happier or the wretcheder.
b.
(a) absol., in singular or plural sense.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > tribulation, trouble, or affliction > wretched person
wretchc1000
caitiffc1325
crachouna1400
wretcheda1425
miserable1484
miser1542
afflicted1545
seggon1570
elf1573
devil1593
wreck1795
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > wretchedness > wretch > [noun]
argha1275
mixa1300
caitiffc1325
crachouna1400
crathona1400
wretcheda1425
fouling?a1475
meschant1490
miscredent?a1500
ketterela1572
miscreant1590
scroyle1602
frummer1659
fustya1732
ramscallion1734
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Isa. xvi. 4 For whi dust is endid, the wretchid [1382 the wrecche] is wastid; he that defoulide the lond failude.
1576 G. Whetstone Castle of Delight 41 in Rocke of Regard Others pleasures a griefe to the wretched.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. v. 38 Who might be your mother That you insult, exult,..Ouer the wretched ? View more context for this quotation
1730 J. Thomson Autumn in Seasons 184 Let These Insnare the wretched in the toils of law.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho IV. xvi. 375 The delight of having made the wretched happy.
a1806 H. K. White Remains (1807) II. 115 I heard the wretched's groan, and mourn'd the wretched's doom.
1844 A. W. Kinglake Eothen ii. 22 The wretched look often more picturesque than their betters.
(b) spec. in wretched of the earth [translating French damnés de la terre (F. Fanon 1961, as book title)] .
ΘΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [noun] > poor person > deprived or underprivileged people
low-paid1739
submerged tenth1890
submerged1897
dispossessed1901
underprivileged1935
wretched of the earth1965
1965 C. Farrington tr. F. Fanon (title) The wretched of the earth.
1970 Guardian 21 Aug. 11/3 Are the refugees, the most wretched of the earth, fertile ground for revolutionary activity on a mass scale?
1979 Country Life 11 Oct. 1236/3 Our own native ‘wretched of the earth’, the alcoholics, the inadequates, the very poor.
1983 C. Driver British at Table viii. 140 Protein alone cannot rescue the wretched of the earth.
2.
a. Of conditions, etc.: Marked or distinguished by misery or unhappiness; attended by distress, discomfort, or sorrow.
ΘΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > misery > [adjective] > of conditions or events
wretch1131
wretchedc1200
feeble1297
wrackfulc1311
woefula1393
miserousc1475
miserable?a1513
discomfortablea1535
calamitous1545
tristsum1567
woe1572
untoward1632
α.
β. c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) vi. 21 It es lang sen any durst come nere þat wricched place.γ. c1500 R. Henryson in G. Stevenson Makculloch & Gray MSS (1918) 16 This wrachit warld may na man trow.1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour Prol. l. 209 in Wks. (1931) I In this wracheit vaill of sorrow.1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 57 Quhen fra this wratcheit lyfe we wend.c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 141 Hwu wunderlich was his hider-cume and hwu wrecchede his her-biwist.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 949 Ȝee most leue þis lufsum land, Vnto þe wreched werld to gang.
c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 557 Þe bygynnyng of man..Es vile and wreched to behalde.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xv. 138 A wrecched hous he helde al his lyf tyme.
c1460 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Laud) l. 9573 Here now my prayere Of this wrecchid preson.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 32 Myserabul penury & wrechyd poverty.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades i. 3 You see howe in this wretched warre our people doe decay.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. iii. 67 Ô wretched state, ôq bosome blacke as death.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 2 The raging Sword and wastful Fire Destroy the wretched Neighbourhood around.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 110 The Savages..kill'd them over again in a wretched Manner, breaking the Arms.
1787 R. Burns Poems (new ed.) 203 Think, for a moment, on his wretched fate.
1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire I. Suppl. ii. 584 The disorderly and wretched state of the population.
1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud xxv. ii, in Maud & Other Poems 90 Wretchedest age, since Time began, They cannot even bury a man.
b. Of weather, etc.: Causing discomfort; very unpleasant or uncomfortable.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > [adjective]
starkOE
unkindc1330
foulc1390
distemperate1398
distempered1490
untemperate1525
intemperate1526
naughty1541
intempered1556
unkindly1579
sour1582
unclement1598
filthy1600
nasty1634
dirty1660
inclement1667
inclemental1709
wretched1711
foul-weather1750
ungenial1816
wersh1830
shabby1853
1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 27 Mar. (1948) I. 225 A rainy wretched scurvy day from morning till night.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 21 It was such a wretched night out o' doors.
1888 Cassell's Encycl. Dict. VII. (at cited word) Wretched weather.
3.
a. Distinguished by base, vile, or unworthy character or quality; contemptible.
ΘΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > condition of being held in contempt > [adjective] > contemptible
unworthc893
unwrastc893
littleOE
narrow-hearteda1200
wretcha1200
unworthya1240
wretchedc1250
un-i-wrastc1275
bad1276
lechera1300
feeblea1325
despisablea1340
villain1340
contemptiblec1384
lousyc1386
caitiff1393
brothelyc1400
roinousa1425
poor1425
sevenpennyc1475
nasty1477
peakish1519
filthy1533
despectuous1541
beggary1542
scald1542
shitten?1545
disdainfula1547
contemptuous1549
despicable1553
skit-brained?1553
contemniblea1555
vile1560
sluttish1561
queer1567
scornful1570
scallardc1575
tinkerly?1576
worthless1576
beggarly?1577
paltry1578
halfpenny1579
dog bolt1580
pitiful1582
sneaking1582
triobolar1585
wormisha1586
baddy1586
dudgeon1592
measled1596
packstaff1598
roguey1598
roguish1601
contemptful1608
grovelling1608
lightly1608
disdainable1611
purulent1611
snotty-nose1622
vilipendious1630
cittern-headed1638
wormy1640
pissabed1643
triobolary1644
disparageable1648
blue-bellied1652
unestimable1656
scullion1658
piteous1667
dirty1670
shabbed1674
shabby1679
snotty1681
snotty-nosed1682
mucky1683
bollocky1694
scoundrel1700
scaldeda1704
sneaking1703
ficulnean1716
unsolid1731
pitiable1753
scrubby1754
inimitable1798
scrubbish1798
worm-likea1807
small1824
lowlife1827
ketty1828
skunkish1831
yellow-bellied1833
scaly1843
cockroachya1845
wutless1853
nigger1859
trashy1862
low-down1872
cruddy1877
shitty1879
tinhorn1886
blithering1889
motherfucking1890
snidey1890
pilgarlicky1894
shitass1895
shoddy1918
yah boo1921
bitching1929
shit-faced1932
turdish1936
fricking1937
jerk-off1937
chickenshit1940
sheg-up1941
snot-nosed1941
jerky1944
mother-loving1948
scroungy1948
fecking1952
pissant1952
shit-kicking1953
shit-eating1956
bumboclaat1957
rassclaat1957
shit-headed1959
farkakte1960
shithouse1966
daggy1967
dipshit1968
scuzzy1969
bloodclaat1971
bitch ass1972
wanky1972
streelish1974
twatty1975
twattish1976
dweeby1988
douchey1991
wank1991
cockish1996
c1250 Kent. Serm. in Old Eng. Misc. 28 Þo ilke þinges so bieth bitere to þo wrichede flessce.
c1290 Codicem MS. Digby 86 (1871) 99 Weilawei, wrecchede bali, nou þou shalt to bere.
a1333 W. Herebert in Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 19 Dame, help at þe noede..Þat uor no wreched gult Ich boe to helle y-pult.
c1375 Lay Folks Mass Bk. (MS. B.) 80 Þat god haue merci..of my wreched synfulnes.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 162 Of this wrechit disobeysaunce cummys vntreuth.
1495 Rolls of Parl. VI. 502/2 Their cursed, myschevous and wreched purpose.
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iii. xi, in Wks. 226 We take suche a wretched pleasure in the hearing of their sin.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 776 (margin) Oh depe and wretched dissimulation.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 278 The wretched nature of the young man, and his extreame impietie.
1652 T. Urquhart Εκσκυβαλαυρον 62 Compatriots infected with the same leprosie of a wretched peevishness; whereof those..rapacious varlets have given of late such cannibal-like proofs.
1729 T. Innes Crit. Ess. Anc. Inhabitants Scotl. II. 569 Knox himself..led on the furious mobb in this wretched expedition.
1754 Bp. T. Sherlock Disc. (1759) I. iii. 109 The wretched Circumstances which put an end to our Lord's life.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. II. 155 Where the practised smile is a wretched mockery of the misery of the heart.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) II. ix. 421 The thing was clearly some wretched court intrigue.
b. Of a poor, mean, or paltry character; mean, worthless; sorry, trifling.
ΘΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > wretchedness > [adjective]
unledeeOE
sorryOE
evila1131
usellc1175
wanlichec1275
bad1276
sorry1372
meana1375
caitiff1393
loddera1400
woefula1400
foulc1400
wretched1450
meschant?1473
unselc1480
peevisha1522
miser1542
scurvy?1577
forlorn1582
villainous1582
measled1596
lamented1611
thrallfula1618
despicable1635
deplorable1642
so-and-so1656
poorish1657
squalida1660
lamentable1676
mesquina1706
shan1714
execrable1738
quisby1807
hole in the wall1822
measly1847
bum1878
shag-bag1888
snidey1890
pathetic1900
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > paltry, mean, or contemptible
unworthlyc1230
wretcha1250
seely1297
vilec1320
not worth a cress (kerse)1377
the value of a rushc1380
threadbarec1412
wretched1450
miserable?a1513
rascal1519
prettya1522
not worth a whistlea1529
pegrall1535
plack1539
pelting1540
scald1542
sleeveless1551
baggage1553
paltering1553
piddling1559
twopenny1560
paltry1565
rubbish1565
baggagely1573
pelfish1577
halfpenny1579
palting1579
baubling1581
three-halfpenny1581
pitiful1582
triobolar1585
squirting1589
not worth a lousea1592
hedge1596
cheap1597
peddling1597
dribbling1600
mean1600
rascally1600
three-farthingc1600
draughty1602
dilute1605
copper1609
peltry?a1610
threepenny1613
pelsy1631
pimping1640
triobolary1644
pigwidgeon1647
dustya1649
fiddling1652
puddlinga1653
insignificant1658
piteous1667
snotty1681
scrubbed1688
dishonourable1699
scrub1711
footy1720
fouty1722
rubbishing1731
chuck-farthing1748
rubbishy1753
shabby1753
scrubby1754
poxya1758
rubbishly1777
waff-like1808
trinkety1817
meanish1831
one-eyed1843
twiddling1844
measly1847
poking1850
picayunish1852
vild1853
picayune1856
snide1859
two-cent1859
rummagy1872
faddling1883
finicking1886
slushy1889
twopence halfpenny1890
jerk1893
pissy1922
crappy1928
two-bit1932
piddly1933
chickenshit1934
pissing1937
penny packet1943
farkakte1960
pony1964
gay1978
1450 Lincoln Diocese Doc. 45 I gyff..my wrechid body to be Beryd in a chitte with-owte any kyste.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 46 His cloþis..wer not ouyr costful, ne ouyr wrecched.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) ix. 403 Quhen sic a knycht, sa richt vorthy As this is.., In-to sic perill has hym set To vyn ane vrechit [1489 Adv. wrechyt] hamlet.
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. iii. f. 265 This wretched victory they shall obteine, where..the Lord shal suffer them to ouerspreade the darknes of lyes.
1638 J. Milton Lycidas in Obsequies 23 in Justa Edouardo King Their lean and flashie songs Grate on their scrannel pipes of wretched straw.
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 274 He who play'd upon the Timbrel accompany'd with a wretched inharmonious Voice.
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 406 A wretched coarse Cloth.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 13. ¶6 The wretched Taste of his Audience.
1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World x. 297 A paper written in such wretched Spanish as we could muster up amongst us.
1778 E. Harwood Eds. Classics (ed. 2) 5 Editions..printed on wretched paper.
1824 M. R. Mitford Our Village I. 189 That still wretcheder apology for a coat.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xix. 263 So wretched had his education been.
1891 F. W. Farrar Darkness & Dawn I. xxx. 287 The wretched little islets of Gyara and Tremerus.
4. Of persons, etc.: Contemptible in character or quality; despicable, reprehensible; hateful.
ΘΠ
the mind > emotion > hatred > object of detestation (person or thing) > [adjective]
loatha700
eileOE
andsetec1000
wlatfulc1230
aloathedc1275
wlatsomea1300
unhonest13..
wlata1325
hideousc1330
abominable1340
hatefula1382
hatesomea1382
abominablec1384
odiousa1387
fulsomec1390
accursedc1400
hatousc1400
rankc1400
hateablec1425
odiblec1425
ugsomec1425
wretchedc1430
loathsomec1440
loathfula1450
noisomea1450
abhominal1477
detestable1477
loathy1481
loathing?a1513
oppugnanta1513
irksome1513
hateworthy1548
abhorful1565
ugged1570
detestine1575
ulcerous1577
opposite1578
scandalous1592
offensive1594
obscene1597
ulcered1602
dirtya1616
abhorrent1628
toady1628
envious1630
repugnant1633
nauseating1645
nauseous1646
obnoxious1646
detestful1654
reluctant1663
horrid1666
abnoxious1682
devilish1692
invidious1710
repellent1776
repellant1780
sickening1789
toadish1822
carrion1826
ugging1839
cussed1853
repugnant1879
jerky1944
vomitous1952
barfy1957
c1430 J. Lydgate Minor Poems (Percy Soc.) 79 There stode a dragon,..Wretched and skaled al wyth asure.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 82 [When] he hard þis clauce red,..þis wrichid clerk made a skorn þerat & sayd þat it was fals.
a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 50 Nero.., of all men wrecchidhest, redy to al maner vices.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vii. l. 400 Had he the warld and be wrachit off hart He is no lord as to the worthines.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Kviiiv Al though they be wretched lyuers and noughty pakes.
1560 Ld. Montague tr. J. Fisher Godlie Treat. Prayer sig. C1v Euery man, be he neuer so extreme and wretched a synner.
c1585 R. Browne Answere to Cartwright 68 To eate the Lordes supper with open vnrepentant & wretched persons is not lawfull.
1710 G. Berkeley Treat. Princ. Human Knowl. §92 The absurdities of every wretched sect of Atheists.
1809–10 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1865) 107 The wretched tyrant..had exhausted the whole magazine of animal terror.
1856 Ld. Tennyson Maud (rev. ed.) x. ii, in Maud & Other Poems (new ed.) 38 At war with myself and a wretched race, Sick, sick to the heart of life, am I.
5. Of persons or animals: Poor in ability, capacity, character, etc.
Π
1482 Monk of Evesham 85 On spurre with the whiche he was compellid to stere his wrechid hors to renne.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 150 Such as are farrowed in winter, are commonly poore & wretched.
1668 J. Evelyn tr. R. Fréart Idea Perfection Painting 16 By the hand of some wretched Dauber.
1860 G. A. Sala Lady Chesterfield's Lett. 31 The women who make the wretchedest wives in the world.
1864 E. B. Pusey Daniel (1876) 363 Daniel's omission of the wretched kings between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar.
ΘΠ
the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective] > miserly
gnedy?c1225
miserable1484
misera1500
muckeringa1525
pinchpence1540
snudging1553
pinchpenny1582
miserly1593
mising1595
scraping1597
chuff-penny1603
wretched1652
nabalitic1653
skinflint1737
nippit1808
Scrooge-like1976
1652 T. Urquhart Εκσκυβαλαυρον 244 That the Minister is the greediest man in the Parish,..and that the richer they become,..the more wretched they are.
Compounds
†wretched-fated, wretched-witched, and esp. wretched-looking.
Π
?1615 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses (new ed.) xx. 50 Thou most sowre, and wretched-fated man Of all that breath!
a1618 J. Sylvester tr. Battail of Yvry in tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Diuine Weekes & Wks. (1621) 1102 People..Pleas'd with the Blaze, do, wretched-witched Elves, For fuell (fooles) cast-in their willing Selves.
1816 J. Scott Paris Revisited v. 74 The single wretched-looking horse of each, half drowned in the torrent.
1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 383/2 The cattle of the district are in general wretched-looking.
1864 A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock (ed. 3) 295 The wretched-looking farm-houses of former years.
Derivatives
ΘΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > misery > [noun]
unselthc888
ermtheOE
unselea1023
wellawayOE
wretchhead1154
wandrethc1175
woec1175
wanea1200
wretchdom?c1225
yomernessc1250
balec1275
un-i-selec1275
wan-siðc1275
unseelinessa1300
wretchedheada1300
cursedness1303
wretcheddomc1320
wrechea1325
wretchnessa1330
tribulationc1330
wretchednessa1340
caitifty1340
meeknessa1382
unwealsomeness1382
infelicityc1384
caitifhedea1400
ill liking?a1400
sorea1400
ungleea1400
unweala1400
caitifnessc1400
deploration1490
caitifdoma1500
woefulnessa1513
misery1527
miserity1533
mishappinessa1542
unwealfulnessa1555
tribulance1575
miserableness1613
agony1621
desolatenessa1626
unblissa1628
unhappiness1722
misère1791
shadow1855
valley1882
miz1918
c1320 Cast. Love 408 He..tyed hym..To wreccheddam [v.r. wrecchedam] and serwe i-nouȝ.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
adj.a1200- set little etc by
- set little nought by
- set little price of
- set little price upon
- set little, more, nought, not, of
- set little, nought to
- set lowe to
- set lunt to
- set match
- set measures to
- set menu
- set mind at rest
- set more store or price by
- set naught or nought by
- set naught or nought not anything by
- set naught or nought nothing by
- set net
- set nether
- set no price, littly at
- set no store or price by
- set not a cherry, curse, a fly, a haw, a mite, an onion, at, by, of
- set not a cherry, curse, a fly, a haw, a mite, an onion, etc at, by, of
- set not by
- set of day
- set of features