ˈmi-zər-bəl
1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
spent the night in a miserable jail cell
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unhappy
feeling unhappiness
the awful news made us miserable
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in terrible
of low quality
a miserable meal that I wouldn't feed to a dog
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4
as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
a miserable little apartment
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5
as in poor
deserving of one's pity
miserable refugees from the war-torn country
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6
as in pathetic
deserving pitying scorn (as for inadequacy)
that ugly mutt is one miserable excuse for a dog
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of miserable
John Hopewell, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
To top off his miserable season, Albies sustained a hamate bone fracture to his left hand in Monday night's game, according to a team announcement.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025
One woman, Chinni, described the work as miserable.
—Diaa Hadid, NPR, 23 Sep. 2025
O’Neill is playing the mom’s curmudgeonly father-in-law who seems intent on making everyone’s life miserable.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for miserable
Noun
Here a miserable delivery boy gets by disposing of mummies recovered in Iquique, North of Chile.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
To top off his miserable season, Albies sustained a hamate bone fracture to his left hand in Monday night's game, according to a team announcement.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025
One woman, Chinni, described the work as miserable.
—Diaa Hadid, NPR, 23 Sep. 2025
O’Neill is playing the mom’s curmudgeonly father-in-law who seems intent on making everyone’s life miserable.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for miserable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for miserable
Adjective
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These days, things are pretty bleak at the old mall, which has many vacancies, is startlingly empty of shoppers and appears slated for redevelopment.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
25 Sep. 2025
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Given that such advances are what fuel economic growth and well-being, the future prospects for our economy — and our country in general — become far more bleak.—
Sheldon Jacobson,
Twin Cities,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Roseanne Barr is unhappy that Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Sep. 2025
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There is a form of right-of-center liberalism that is content with status hierarchies, that is very unhappy with anything that makes people feel reprimanded.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Our prayers are with the victims and their families during this terrible tragedy.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
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Rather, the wretched truth is a reminder that history’s wins are often, if not always, accompanied by terrible loss — that, sometimes, what was cast as victory may have actually been defeat.—
Andrea Williams,
Nashville Tennessean,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Skyscrapers could have made a historic but dilapidated neighborhood more varied and richly layered.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
22 Sep. 2025
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Additionally, several existing dilapidated buildings on the site will be demolished and their concrete recycled and partly reused to realize the new structures.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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There are 577 bridges in Milwaukee, and only 5% are considered to be in poor condition, according to a new Wisconsin Policy Forum report.—
Anna Kleiber,
jsonline.com,
25 Sep. 2025
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Last week, as financial panic escalated following Milei’s party’s poor showing in local elections, Argentina’s central bank spent more than $1 billion of its foreign currency reserves to keep the peso from collapsing.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Characters can be pathetic, and frank about their Toledo Truth Teller’s bleak prospects.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
23 Sep. 2025
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Jimmy Kimmel is a pathetic hate monger.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The time-traveler received terrible, albeit false, news in Episode 6: A midwife who’d been paid to lie informed him that Julia and their baby had died during childbirth, their bodies thrown in a pauper’s grave.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
5 Sep. 2025
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The woman shares that Julia was buried in an unmarked grave as a pauper.—
Lincee Ray,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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When this puzzle started, its comment section was often empty or lonely.—
Mark Cooper,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
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Those who perceive this total control are prone to paranoia, leaving them mistrustful and lonely, while those who seek to profit from it are dragged into depravity.—
Kathryn Schulz,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Miserable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/miserable. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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