different between retched vs wretched

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?t?t

Verb

retched

1. simple past tense and past participle of retch

Anagrams

• Dechert

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English wrecched, equivalent to wretch +? -ed.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???t??d/

Adjective

wretched (comparative wretcheder or more wretched, superlative wretchedest or most wretched)

1. Very miserable; feeling deep affliction or distress.

   I felt wretched after my wife died.
2. Worthless; paltry; very poor or mean; miserable.

   The street was full of wretched beggars dressed in rags.
3. (obsolete) Hatefully contemptible; despicable; wicked.
4. (informal) Used to express dislike of or annoyance towards the mentioned thing.

   Will you please stop playing that wretched trombone!

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "wretched" is often applied: woman, state, life, condition, creature, man, excess, person, place, world, being, situation, weather, slave, animal, city, village, health, house, town.

Synonyms

• (very miserable): See Thesaurus:sad or Thesaurus:lamentable
• (worthless): See Thesaurus:insignificant
• (hatefully contemptible): See Thesaurus:despicable

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• wretched in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• wretched in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “wretched”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??t?t/
• Rhymes: -?t?t

Verb

wretched

1. Misspelling of retched.