wretchedlyadv.
/ˈrɛtʃᵻdli/, U.S. /ˈrɛtʃədli/ In a wretched manner.† 3. Scottish. In a miserly or niggardly manner. Obsolete.
1.
a. In a miserable or unhappy fashion; with great misery, discomfort, distress, or unhappiness; miserably.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [adverb] > wretchedly or miserably
un-i-sellyOE
wretchedlyc1340
unhappily1390
miserably?a1425
lodderlyc1425
unluckily1530
miscreantly1744
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > wretchedness > [adverb]
noughtlyeOE
litherOE
naughtlyOE
litherlya1225
simplya1325
miseaselyc1330
wretchedlyc1340
lewdlyc1386
unhappily1390
miserably?a1425
lodderlyc1425
sorrily1496
singly1548
naughtily1574
sillily1581
lamentably1585
evilly1587
woefully1592
scurvily1616
execrably1633
grievously1742
miscreantly1744
queasily1845
fecklessly1862
God-forsakenly1913
the mind > emotion > suffering > misery > [adverb]
armlyeOE
un-i-sellyOE
wretchlikec1175
wretchlyc1175
unsellyc1275
wretchedlyc1340
woefullya1393
caitifly1393
miserably?a1425
lodderlyc1425
mischievously?a1439
sorrily1496
comfortlessly1852
c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 842 Þus wrechedly endes þe lyf of man.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 9459 Quen he sa wrechedli had tint His heritage.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) xxiii. 251 Thei lyven fulle wrecched-liche; and thei eten but ones in the day.
c1410 Lanterne of Liȝt 51 Art þou not þanne wrechidli diuidid in þi silf?
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) 1st Prol. 5 Adam..fel so wretchydly in to synne.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 50 For lake thereof [sc. food] many..lyve veray wrechydly.
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. x. sig. Liiii Tyll death from this lyfe, dyd her wretchedly fetche.
1652 E. Benlowes Theophila i. lxxxvi. 12 Crest-faln by Sin, how wretchedly I stray.
a1667 A. Cowley Ess. in Verse & Prose Thus wretchedly the precious day is lost.
1765 Museum Rusticum 4 403 It is our lots to be so wretchedly situated..as to be content with forty shillings per cow per annum, nett profit.
1817 Ld. Byron Manfred ii. i. 77 I can bear—However wretchedly..—In life what others could not brook to dream.
1867 W. Morris Life & Death of Jason ix. 154 This body..In thy despite here mangled wretchedly.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1877) II. viii. 187 Arnulf..drove him out to die wretchedly in exile.
b. In a way suggestive of indisposition or bad health.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > [adverb]
sickly1572
down1625
unhealthily1644
sadly1711
sicklily1727
wretchedly1728
morbidly1804
sickishly1847
1728 E. Young Universal Passion: Satire VI 12 Methinks I look so wretchedly to-day!
1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility II. viii. 130 Though looking most wretchedly, she ate more. View more context for this quotation
2. So as to cause, or involve in, misery, distress, or discomfort.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [adverb] > wretchedly or miserably > so as to cause misery
wretchedly1297
miserablya1538
the mind > emotion > suffering > misery > [adverb] > so as to cause misery
wretchedly1297
miseaselyc1330
miserably1535
desolatingly1888
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 5049 Þe wreche..Þat þus wrecched~liche vs drifþ out of vre kunde londe.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 190 Wretchedly caste oute from the glory of paradyse.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxiiiv The hepyng of synne vpon sinne, wretchedly by his aunceters.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1656 (1955) III. 176 A faire Towne but now wretchedly demolished by the late Siege.
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) The prisoners were wretchedly lodged.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adverb] > in miserly manner
wretchedly?a1513
miserably1611
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 144 Sum gevis to littill full wretchitly, That his giftis ar not set by.
4. Qualifying adjectives (or adverbs): To a distressing, vexing, or unsatisfactory degree; deplorably, very badly; = miserably adv. 5.In the trivial use frequent from c1830.
ΘΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of annoyance or vexation > [adverb] > in annoying or vexatious manner
noyfully1395
annoyously?c1400
noyously1483
troublously1538
uncommodiously1545
wretchedly1546
irksomely1549
incommodiously1551
troublesomely1591
vexingly1599
cumbersomely1611
vexatiously1642
discomfortably1653
importunely1658
gratingly1683
mortifyingly1748
distressingly1786
gallingly1802
annoyingly1806
peskily1833
pesky1833
tryingly1841
discomfortingly1869
balls-achingly1972
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > specifically of something bad
sorea1300
wretchedly1546
miserably1715
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > [adverb] > lamentably
ruthfullyc1225
tooc1275
piteouslyc1300
pitifullyc1450
pietously1474
wretchedly1546
lamentably1585
deplorably1653
sadly1655
1546 J. Bale Actes Eng. Votaryes: 1st Pt. f. 76 They are wretchedlye blynde, for want of lyuelye knowlege in the sacred scripturs.
a1677 I. Barrow Wks. (1686) III. 219 Sloth is a base quality, the argument of a mind wretchedly degenerate and mean.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1679 (1955) IV. 177 The land all about wretchedly barren.
1698 G. Stanhope tr. Thomas à Kempis Christian's Pattern i. iii. 8 Both Error and Vice do..so wretchedly abound.
1810 Countess Granville Lett. (1894) I. 4 Miss Berry..looking wretchedly ill.
1830 C. C. F. Greville Mem. 5 Feb. (1875) I. 275 They are wretchedly off for speakers.
1858 C. Dickens Let. 29 Aug. (1995) VIII. 642 You will find it a wretchedly stupid letter.
1879 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times II. xxvii. 306 The hospitals were in a wretchedly disorganised condition.
5. In an inexpert, unsatisfactory, or crude manner; inefficiently, unskilfully, very poorly.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > [adverb] > without proficiency
rawly1581
insatisfactorily1646
incompetently1653
wretchedly1677
terribly1906
1677 G. Miege New Dict. French & Eng. ii. sig. Mmm3v/2 To do a thing wretchedly,..faire mal quelque chose.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1656 (1955) III. 177 Coilus has a statue of wood wretchedly carvd.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 159 I made me a Suit of Cloaths wholly of these Skins..they were wretchedly made.
1757 W. Burke Acct. European Settlem. Amer. II. vii. xxvii. 269 The capital..was a small place wretchedly fortified.
1778 E. Harwood Eds. Classics (ed. 2) 59 This Edition wretchedly reprinted, Francof. 1690.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xxvi. 349 We are wretchedly prepared for another winter on board.
1881 M. E. Braddon Asphodel II. 16 Lina, dearest,..you were playing [billiards] almost as wretchedly as I.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adv.1297