miserable
adjective
mis·er·a·ble
ˈmi-zər-bəl,
ˈmiz-rə-,
ˈmi-zə-rə-
1
: being in a pitiable state of distress or unhappiness (as from want or shame)
miserable refugees
2
a
: wretchedly inadequate or meager (see meager sense 2)
a miserable hovel
b
: causing extreme discomfort or unhappiness
a miserable situation
miserable weather
his miserable childhood
3
: being likely to discredit or shame
his miserable neglect of his wife
had a miserable, snide contempt for our country—
Joyce Winslow
Joyce WinslowSynonyms
- black
- bleak
- cheerless
- chill
- Cimmerian
- cloudy
- cold
- comfortless
- dark
- darkening
- depressing
- depressive
- desolate
- dire
- disconsolate
- dismal
- drear
- dreary
- dreich [chiefly Scottish]
- elegiac
- elegiacal
- forlorn
- funereal
- gloomy
- glum
- godforsaken
- gray
- grey
- lonely
- lonesome
- lugubrious
- morbid
- morose
- murky
- plutonian
- saturnine
- sepulchral
- solemn
- somber
- sombre
- sullen
- sunless
- tenebrific
- tenebrous
- wretched
Examples of miserable in a Sentence
He had a miserable childhood.
My boss is making my life thoroughly miserable with her constant demands and criticism.
He felt lonely and miserable after his divorce.
I've had a miserable cold for the past week.
He lived in a miserable little shack.
Recent Examples on the Web
However, from the research, one vacation made all the difference between being happy and miserable.
—Wes Moss, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
However, their infatuation eventually blurs the lines between fantasy and their miserable realities, inviting new horrors to seep in.
—Keith Staskiewicz, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024
One commuter recounted a miserable week in June that hit its nadir on Thursday the 20th, when his train home to South Orange was canceled from Penn Station, forcing him to try to get home from Hoboken, whereupon that train ended up getting canceled too.
—Nolan Hicks, Curbed, 28 Oct. 2024
The concrete there takes, to me, a much more miserable, oppressive tone.
—Owen Davies, Curbed, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for miserable 
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Wes Moss, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
However, their infatuation eventually blurs the lines between fantasy and their miserable realities, inviting new horrors to seep in.
—Keith Staskiewicz, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024
One commuter recounted a miserable week in June that hit its nadir on Thursday the 20th, when his train home to South Orange was canceled from Penn Station, forcing him to try to get home from Hoboken, whereupon that train ended up getting canceled too.
—Nolan Hicks, Curbed, 28 Oct. 2024
The concrete there takes, to me, a much more miserable, oppressive tone.
—Owen Davies, Curbed, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for miserable
Articles Related to miserable
Dictionary Entries Near miserable
Cite this Entry
“Miserable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/miserable. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
miserable
adjective
mis·er·a·ble
ˈmiz-ər-bəl
ˈmiz-(ə-)rə-bəl
1
a
: shabby in condition or quality
a miserable place to live
b
: causing great discomfort or unhappiness
a miserable cold
2
: extremely poor or unhappy : wretched
miserableness
noun
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