/ ˈretʃɪd; NAmE / adjective
1.
( of a person ) feeling ill / sick or unhappy :
You look wretched—what's wrong?
I felt wretched about the way things had turned out.
2.
( formal ) extremely bad or unpleasant
SYN awful :
She had a wretched time of it at school.
The animals are kept in the most wretched conditions.
3.
( formal ) making you feel sympathy or pity
SYN pitiful :
She finally agreed to have the wretched animal put down.
4.
[ only before noun ] ( informal ) used to show that you think that sb/sth is extremely annoying :
Is it that wretched woman again?
► wretch·ed·ly adverb
► wretch·ed·ness noun [ U ]
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : formed irregularly from wretch + -ed .