Wretched – In an unhappy or unfortunate state

(Pronounced rech-id)

To remember the definition of the word wretched, use the following mnemonic:

She retched and her head (wretched) felt terrible. She was in a very unhappy state.

Examples of wretched in a sentence

Despite Steve's wretched childhood, he grew up to be a kind and happy man.

The poor wretched fox was not only riddled with mange, it had several ticks as well.

The animals at the zoo are kept in the wretched conditions.