See Also: miserable(dictionary)
miserable(dictionary)

miserable (iou)



miserable adjective & noun. LME.
[Old & mod. French miserable from Latin miserabilis pitiable, from miserari be pitiful, from miser: see MISER adjective, -ABLE.]
A. adjective.
I. Of a person.
Existing in a state of external discomfort or distress; needy, poverty-stricken, wretchedly poor. Now rare. LME.
Miserly, mean, stingy. Now chiefly Scot., Austral., & NZ. L15.
Full of mental misery; wretchedly unhappy or uncomfortable. L16.
C. Angier She was miserable and agitated and quarrelling with everyone.
II.
Of a thing: pitiable, deplorable. Now rare. LME.
Of a condition, an event, etc.: full of misery; causing wretchedness or extreme discomfort. L15.
V. Brittain Three miserable weeks of disappointment..and anxiety, and depression. A. Wesker A cold, miserable, two-roomed flat, all on your own. D. Francis It was an uncomfortable, miserable, thought.
Unworthy, inadequate; contemptible, mean. E16.
New Republic The miserable pensions that are being paid to the widows of fallen soldiers. G. Orwell The miserable little threepenny-bit.
b. noun. A miserable person; a person who is extremely unhappy or wretched. M16.
misera'bility noun (rare) M16.
miserableness noun E16.
miserably adverb LME.