wretchedly

English

Etymology

From Middle English wrecchedly; equivalent to wretched +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɹɛt͡ʃədli/, /ˈɹɛt͡ʃɪdli/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Audio (US):(file)

Adverb

wretchedly (comparative more wretchedly, superlative most wretchedly)

  1. In a wretched manner.
    • 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. [], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, [], →OCLC, page 241:
      Tell my page to ask him to walk with you, for you look wretchedly, and to be sure you have been on your knees a long time rubbing that foot, I must say.
    • 1868 January 4 – June 6, [William] Wilkie Collins, “First Period. The Loss of the Diamond (1848). []”, in The Moonstone. A Romance. [], volume I, London: Tinsley Brothers, [], published 1868, →OCLC, chapter XVI, page 268:
      I felt wretchedly old, and worn out, and unfit for my place—and began to wonder, for the first time in my life, when it would please God to take me.

Translations