Meanings
comparative more wretchedly · superlative most wretchedly
- In a wretched manner.
I felt wretchedly old, and worn out, and unfit for my place—and began to wonder, for the first time in my life, when it would please God to take me.
1868 January 4 – June 6, [William] Wilkie Collins, “First Period. The Loss of the Diamond (1848). […]”, in The Moonstone. A Romance. […], volume I, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], published 1868, →OCLC, chapter XVI, page 2681 more example
Tell my page to ask him to walk with you, for you look wretchedly, and to be sure you have been on your knees a long time rubbing that foot, I must say.
1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 241
Origin
- Middle Englishwrecchedly
- Englishwretchedly
From Middle English wrecchedly; equivalent to wretched + -ly.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Esperanto mizere
- mizerein a wretched manner
Finnish kurjasti, surkeasti
- kurjastiin a wretched manner
- surkeastiin a wretched manner
Russian горько, убого
- горько (gorʹko)in a wretched manner
- убого (ubogo)in a wretched manner
Cite this entry
wretchedly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wretchedly
“wretchedly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wretchedly. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wretchedly,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wretchedly.
Source: wretchedly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.