Definitions for wretch
rɛtʃwretch

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. wretchnoun

   performs some wicked deed

2. poor devil, wretchnoun

   someone you feel sorry for

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. wretchnoun

   An unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person.

2. wretchnoun

   An unpleasant, annoying person.

3. wretchnoun

   An exile.

4. Etymology: From wrecca.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. WRETCHnoun

   Etymology: wrecca , Saxon.

   1. A miserable mortal.

   When I loved, I was a wretch. Accidence.

   She weeps, and says her Henry is depos’d;
   He smiles, and says his Edward is install’d;
   That she, poor wretch, for grief can speak no more. William Shakespeare.

   The butcher takes away the calf,
   And binds the wretch, and beats it when it strives. William Shakespeare.

   Illustrious wretch! repine not, nor reply:
   View not what heav’n ordains, with reason’s eye;
   For bright the object is, the distance is too high. Matthew Prior.

   2. A worthless sorry creature.

   Base-minded wretches, are your thoughts so deeply bemired in the trade of ordinary worldlings, as for respect of gain some paultry wool may yield you, to let so much time pass without knowing perfectly her estate? Philip Sidney.

   He now
   Has these poor men in question: never saw I
   Wretches so quake; they kneel, they kiss the earth,
   Forswear themselves as often as they speak. William Shakespeare.

   Title of honour, worth and virtue’s right,
   Should not be given to a wretch so vile. Samuel Daniel, Civil War.

   When they are gone, a company of starved hungry wretches shall take their places. Roger L'Estrange.

   3. It is used by way of slight, or ironical pity, or contempt.

   When soon away the wasp doth go;
   Poor wretch was never frighted so:
   He thought his wings were much too slow,
   O’erjoy’d they so were parted. Michael Drayton, Nymphid.

   Then, if the spider find him fast beset,
   She issues forth, and runs along her loom:
   She joys to touch the captive in her net,
   And drags the little wretch in triumph home. Dryden.

   4. It is sometimes a word of tenderness, as we now say poor thing.

   Chastened but thus, and thus his lesson taught,
   The happy wretch she put into her breast. Philip Sidney.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. wretch

   A wretch is a person who is in a very unhappy or unfortunate state. It can also refer to a despicable or contemptible person, particularly someone who is morally wrong or behaves unjustly. The term is often used in a scornful or disparaging manner in literary or poetic contexts.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Wretchverb

   a miserable person; one profoundly unhappy

2. Wretchverb

   one sunk in vice or degradation; a base, despicable person; a vile knave; as, a profligate wretch

3. Etymology: [OE. wrecche, AS. wrecca, wrcca, an exile, a wretch, fr. wrecan to drive out, punish; properly, an exile, one driven out, akin to AS. wrc an exile, OS. wrekkio a stranger, OHG. reccheo an exile. See Wreak, v. t.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Wretch

   Wretch is the first full-length album by American heavy metal band Kyuss. It was released in September 1991, on Dali Records. Previously billed as Sons of Kyuss, the band shortened their name prior to the release of this album. The album is notable for its distinctive sound, though this is not necessarily a positive; its production has been criticized and the album has been described as a poor representation of the band's sound.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Wretch

   rech, n. a most miserable person: one sunk in vice: a worthless person: body, creature (in pity, sometimes admiration).—adj. Wretch′ed, very miserable: distressingly bad: despicable: worthless.—adv. Wretch′edly.—n. Wretch′edness. [A.S. wrecca, an outcast—wræc, pa.t. of wrecan, to drive.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Wretch

   Retch vs. Wretch -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Retch and Wretch.

Matched Categories

1. • Reprobate
   • Victim

How to pronounce wretch?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say wretch in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of wretch in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of wretch in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of wretch in a Sentence

1. Edmund Spenser:

   It is the mind that maketh good or ill, that maketh wretch or happy, rich or poor.

2. William Shakespeare, "Othello", Act 3 scene 3:

   Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul,But I do love thee! and when I love thee not, Chaos is come again.

3. Hannah More:

   The wretch who digs the mine for bread, or ploughs, that others may be fed, feels less fatigued than that decreed to him who cannot think or read.

4. William Penn:

   If a civil word or two will render a man happy, he must be a wretch, indeed who will not give them to him. Such a disposition is like lighting another man's candle by one's own, which loses none of its brilliancy by what the other gains.

5. William Shakespeare:

   Excellent wretch Perdition catch my soul, But I do love thee and when I love thee not, Chaos is come again.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=wretch
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wretch
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=wretch
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wretch
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=wretch
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=wretch