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Definition of miserable adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

miserable

adjective
 
/ˈmɪzrəbl/
 
/ˈmɪzrəbl/
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  1. very unhappy or uncomfortable
    • We were cold, wet and thoroughly miserable.
    • Don't look so miserable!
    • She knows how to make life miserable for her employees.
    Extra Examples
    • We got home feeling tired and miserable.
    • feeling utterly miserable about his exams
    • The miners came past with their tired and miserable faces.
    Topics Feelingsb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • feel
    • look
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    preposition
    • about
    See full entry
  2. making you feel very unhappy or uncomfortable synonym depressing
    • miserable housing conditions
    • I spent a miserable weekend alone at home.
    • What a miserable day! (= cold and wet)
    • The play was a miserable failure.
    • These people live in miserable conditions.
    Topics Weatherb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • feel
    • look
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    preposition
    • about
    See full entry
  3. [only before noun] (disapproving) (of a person) always unhappy, unfriendly and in a bad mood synonym grumpy
    • He was a miserable old devil.
    Topics Personal qualitiesc1
  4. too small in quantity synonym paltry
    • How can anyone live on such a miserable wage?
  5. Word Originlate Middle English: from French misérable, from Latin miserabilis ‘pitiable’, from miserari ‘to pity’, from miser ‘wretched’.
See miserable in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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