Miserable — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

very unhappy; full of misery

deserving or inciting pity; ; ; - Galsworthy

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/mˈɪzɹəbəl/

🇬🇧British English

/mˈɪzɹəbəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/mˈɪzɹəbəl/

3 syllables Say it as /mˈɪzɹəbəl/.

Examples

he felt depressed and miserable
a message of hope for suffering humanity
wretched prisoners huddled in stinking cages

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

paltry misfortunate scurvy deplorable measly low scummy abject poor suffering wretched hapless pitiful execrable woeful low-down piteous pitiable pathetic

Parts of Speech

adjective	very unhappy; full of misery “he felt depressed and miserable”
adjective	deserving or inciting pity; ; ; - Galsworthy “a hapless victim”
adjective	of the most contemptible kind “abject cowardice”
adjective	of very poor quality or condition “deplorable housing conditions in the inner city”
adjective	characterized by physical misery “a wet miserable weekend”
adjective	contemptibly small in amount “a measly tip”

Word Forms

miserableness	noun	a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune
wretchedness	noun	a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune
pathos	noun	a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
pity	noun	a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
paltriness	noun	worthlessness due to insignificance

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

miserabel

sehr unglücklich; voller Elend

🇫🇷French

misérable

très malheureux; plein de misère

🇮🇹Italian

miserabile

molto infelice; pieno di miseria

🇳🇱Dutch

miserabel

erg ongelukkig; vol ellende

🇵🇹Portuguese

miserável

muito infeliz; cheio de miséria

🇷🇺Russian

убогий

очень несчастен; полный страданий

India

🇮🇳Hindi

दुखी

बहुत दुखी; दुख से भरा हुआ

🇧🇩Bengali

দুঃখজনক

খুব অসুখী; দুঃখে পূর্ণ

🇮🇳Tamil

பரிதாபகரமான

மிகவும் மகிழ்ச்சியற்ற; துன்பம் நிறைந்தது

🇮🇳Telugu

దయనీయమైన

చాలా సంతోషంగా; దుఃఖంతో నిండిపోయింది

🇮🇳Marathi

दयनीय

खूप दुःखी; दुःखाने भरलेले

🇮🇳Gujarati

કંગાળ

ખૂબ નાખુશ; દુઃખથી ભરેલું

🇮🇳Kannada

ಶೋಚನೀಯ

ತುಂಬಾ ಅತೃಪ್ತಿ; ದುಃಖದಿಂದ ತುಂಬಿದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ദയനീയമായ

വളരെ അസന്തുഷ്ടൻ; നിറഞ്ഞ ദുരിതം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਦੁਖੀ

ਬਹੁਤ ਨਾਖੁਸ਼; ਦੁੱਖ ਨਾਲ ਭਰਿਆ

🇵🇰Urdu

دکھی

بہت ناخوش؛ مصیبت سے بھرا ہوا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

悲惨的

非常不高兴；充满痛苦

🇯🇵Japanese

惨めな

とても不幸です。惨めさでいっぱい

🇰🇷Korean

비참한

매우 불행하다; 비참함으로 가득 찬

🇻🇳Vietnamese

khổ sở

rất không vui; đầy đau khổ

🇹🇭Thai

น่าเวทนา

ไม่มีความสุขมาก เต็มไปด้วยความทุกข์ยาก

🇮🇩Indonesian

menderita

sangat tidak bahagia; penuh kesengsaraan

🇲🇾Malay

sengsara

sangat tidak berpuas hati; penuh dengan kesengsaraan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

بائس

غير سعيد للغاية؛ مليئة بالبؤس

🇮🇷Persian

بدبخت

بسیار ناراضی؛ پر از بدبختی

🇹🇷Turkish

acınası

çok mutsuz; sefalet dolu

🇮🇱Hebrew

אוּמלָל

מאוד אומלל; מלא אומללות

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'miserable'?

The primary meaning of 'miserable' is 'very unhappy; full of misery'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'miserable' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'miserable' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'miserable' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'miserable' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'miserable' in your daily reading?

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Do you find 'miserable' easy to spell?

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In your opinion, does the word 'miserable' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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Which age group is most likely to use 'miserable' in regular conversations?

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Would you classify 'miserable' as formal, casual, or slang?

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