MISERABLE

measly, miserable, paltry

(adjective) contemptibly small in amount; “a measly tip”; “the company donated a miserable $100 for flood relief”; “a paltry wage”; “almost depleted his miserable store of dried beans”

miserable, wretched

(adjective) characterized by physical misery; “a wet miserable weekend”; “spent a wretched night on the floor”

abject, low, low-down, miserable, scummy, scurvy

(adjective) of the most contemptible kind; “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”

hapless, miserable, misfortunate, pathetic, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, poor, wretched

(adjective) deserving or inciting pity; “a hapless victim”; “miserable victims of war”; “the shabby room struck her as extraordinarily pathetic”- Galsworthy; “piteous appeals for help”; “pitiable homeless children”; “a pitiful fate”; “Oh, you poor thing”; “his poor distorted limbs”; “a wretched life”

miserable, suffering, wretched

(adjective) very unhappy; full of misery; “he felt depressed and miserable”; “a message of hope for suffering humanity”; “wretched prisoners huddled in stinking cages”

deplorable, execrable, miserable, woeful, wretched

(adjective) of very poor quality or condition; “deplorable housing conditions in the inner city”; “woeful treatment of the accused”; “woeful errors of judgment”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

miserable (comparative miserabler or more miserable, superlative miserablest or most miserable)

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

Very bad (at something); unskilled, incompetent.

Wretched; worthless; mean.

(obsolete) Causing unhappiness or misery.

(obsolete) Avaricious; niggardly; miserly.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "miserable" is often applied: life, condition, state, situation, day, time, creature, person, child, failure, place, world, season, year, week, experience, feeling, work, town, city, wage, job, case, excuse, dog.

Synonyms

• (in a state of misery): See Thesaurus:sad

• (very bad (at)): See Thesaurus:unskilled

• (wretched): See Thesaurus:despicable

• (causing unhappiness): See Thesaurus:lamentable

• (miserly): See Thesaurus:stingy

Noun

miserable (plural miserables)

A miserable person; a wretch.

Anagrams

• marbelise, marbleise

Source: Wiktionary


Mis"er*a*ble, a. Etym: [F. misérable, L. miserabilis, fr. miserari to lament, pity, fr. miser wretched. See Miser.]

1. Very unhappy; wretched. What hopes delude thee, miserable man Dryden.

2. Causing unhappiness or misery. What 's more miserable than discontent Shak.

3. Worthless; mean; despicable; as, a miserable fellow; a miserable dinner. Miserable comforters are ye all. Job xvi. 2.

4. Avaricious; niggardly; miserly. [Obs.] Hooker.

Syn.

– Abject; forlorn; pitiable; wretched.

Mis"er*a*ble, n.

Definition: A miserable person. [Obs.] Sterne.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

4 February 2025

DISKETTE

(noun) a small plastic magnetic disk enclosed in a stiff envelope with a radial slit; used to store data or programs for a microcomputer; “floppy disks are noted for their relatively slow speed and small capacity and low price”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee has initially been a food – chewed, not sipped. Early African tribes consume coffee by grinding the berries together, adding some animal fat, and rolling the treats into tiny edible energy balls.

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