wretch
/ɹɛt͡ʃ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.83 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person.
noun
An unpleasant, annoying, worthless, or despicable person.
verb
Misspelling of retch.
Example Sentences
- "The poor wretch, who lay motionless a long time, just began to recover his senses as a stage-coach came by."
- "The four unhappy wretches labouring under sentence of banishment were freed from their fetters, to rejoin their former society; and three days given as holidays to every convict in the colony."
- "And his subjects wrung all they could wring / Out of temple and palace and store. / But when there seemed no more to bring, / His captors convicted the king / Of once having started a war, / And strangled the wretch with a string."
- "Swear to me but, thou bold wretch! said she, swear to me, that Pamela Andrews is really and truly thy lawful wife, without sham, without deceit, without double-meaning; and I know what I have to say!"
- "I asked that selfish wretch, Winterblossom, to walk down with me to view her distress, and the heartless beast told me he was afraid of infection!"
- "[…]Alaeddin ate and drank and was cheered and after he had rested and had recovered spirits he cried, "Ah, O my mother, I have a sore grievance against thee for leaving me to that accursed wight who strave to compass my destruction and designed to take my life. Know that I beheld Death with mine own eyes at the hand of this damned wretch, whom thou didst certify to be my uncle;[…]"
Etymology
From Middle English wrecche, from Old English wreċċa (“exile, outcast”), from Proto-Germanic *wrakjô (“exile, fugitive, warrior”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to track, follow”). Doublet of garçon.