# wretchedly

**Pronunciation:** /ˈrɛtʃɪdli/ · RET-chid-lee

**CEFR level:** C2

**Part of speech:** adverb

## Meaning

In a manner that expresses extreme unhappiness, misery, or a poor quality of life.

## Examples

- The abandoned puppy waited wretchedly by the roadside for someone to notice him.
- She performed wretchedly in the final exam because she had been too sick to study.
- The refugees lived wretchedly in makeshift tents with no access to clean water.

## Synonyms

- sadly — A general, common term for feeling unhappy.
- miserably — Stronger than sadly; implies deep unhappiness or poor conditions.
- woefully — Suggests a sense of grief or lamentable circumstances.
- abjectly — Describes a state of being completely humiliated or hopeless.

## Antonyms

- joyfully — The direct opposite, expressing great happiness.
- happily — The most common term for a positive, cheerful state.

## Collocations

- wretchedly poor — The family lived in a wretchedly poor neighborhood on the edge of the city.
- wretchedly unhappy — He felt wretchedly unhappy after hearing the bad news.
- perform wretchedly — The team performed wretchedly during the first half of the game.

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