miserablemis‧e‧ra‧ble /ˈmɪzərəbəl/ ●●● S3 W3 adjective 
I’ve been so miserable since Pat left me. I spent the weekend feeling miserable. Jan looks really miserable. Why do you make yourself miserable by taking on too much work?as miserable as sin British English (=very miserable)► see thesaurus at sad2 especially British English always bad-tempered, dissatisfied, or complaining: He’s a miserable old devil.3[usually before noun] making you feel very unhappy, uncomfortable etc: They endured hours of backbreaking work in miserable conditions. Mosquito bites can make life miserable.4miserable weather is cold and dull, with no sun shining: It was a miserable grey day. two weeks of miserable weather5[only before noun] very small in amount, or very bad in quality: I can hardly afford the rent on my miserable income. The team gave a miserable performance.6miserable failure British English a complete failure: Her attempts to learn to drive had been a miserable failure.—miserably adverb: I failed miserably in my duty to protect her.
WORD ORIGINmiserable
Origin:
1400-1500 Old French, Latin miserabilis, from miser; ➔ MISEREXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- All that work for this miserable paycheck!
- All the staff seemed to look miserable and the atmosphere was not at all pleasant.
- Dana was in the other day and she looked miserable.
- Factory workers during the 18th century led miserable lives.
- He sat all alone in his room, thoroughly miserable.
- I wish this city would do something about the miserable condition of the roads.
- Jen has been stuck in a miserable job for the last two years.
- Preston had a miserable childhood.
- The journey home was miserable. Everyone was depressed about losing the game.
- The poor miserable animals were starving, dirty and wet.
- Wear your coat, or you'll get sick in this miserable weather
- Enraged, drunk, freezing and unutterably miserable I left to make the 200 mile trip home.
- She appropriated slapstick and hyperbole to the delicious purpose of lampooning the fathead who made her life miserable.
- She should have known better than to think he would bring it to her, miserable sinner that she was.
- There was only Sergeant-Chef Gibeau to make our lives miserable now.
- They made each other miserable, locking wills, disbelieving that the other party could long endure a war of emotional attrition.
- What I had seen of Czechoslovakia was a society which encouraged a miserable waste of human resources.
THESAURUSvery sad
very sad, especially because you are lonely, cold, ill, or upset – used about people and periods of time: · I felt miserable and blamed myself for what had happened.· Her life was miserable.· I had a miserable time at college.
very sad and without hope for a long time, because things are wrong in your life or because of a medical condition: · After his wife left him, he became depressed and refused to talk to anyone.
extremely sad because of something that has happened to someone or something that you care about very much: · She was heartbroken when her dog died.
very upset because of something bad that has happened, so that you cannot think clearly: · She was very distressed when he left her.· The boy’s hospital bed was surrounded by distraught relatives.
[not before noun] extremely sad and shocked, because something very bad has happened: · The whole town was devastated by the tragedy.
Longman Language Activatorfeeling sad or unhappy not happy, especially because a happy time has ended, or because you feel sorry about someone else's unhappiness: · She felt sad as she waved goodbye.· Don't look so sad! It won't be long until the next holidays.· There was such a sad look in her eyes.sad to see/hear/learn etc: · We were very sad to hear about Mrs Humphrey's death.sad to do something: · I was glad to be going home, but sad to leave all my friends.sad about: · It's natural to feel sad about it when your children finally leave home.
not happy, because you are in a situation, job, or relationship that you do not enjoy at all, and it seems likely to continue: · Neil was very unhappy at school.· Her parents' divorce left her feeling confused and unhappydesperately/deeply unhappy (=very unhappy): · She was desperately unhappy after Sean left her.unhappy about: · I felt so unhappy about what he had said that I just sat down and cried.
unhappy because something unpleasant or disappointing has happened, so that you feel shocked or you want to cry: · Don't be upset. I'm sure she didn't mean to be unkind.· The children were very upset when we told them that we wouldn't be going to Disneyland.get upset: · We'd better not tell Mum about what's happened. She'll only get upset.upset about: · Liz is very upset about her uncle's death.upset that: · "What's the matter with Rod?" "I think he's still upset that we forgot his birthday."
extremely unhappy, because of the situation you are in, especially because you are lonely, hungry, cold etc: · He sat all alone in his room, thoroughly miserable.· The poor miserable animals were starving, dirty and wet.· All the staff seemed to look miserable and the atmosphere was not at all pleasant.
unhappy because you are away from your home, your family, and your friends, and you wish you were back there: · My sister was very homesick when she first went to college.· They were both gazing out of the window like a couple of homesick kids.· Most people get homesick the first time they leave home.homesick for: · Sampras confessed that he was homesick for America after five weeks in Europe.
sad and disappointed because something you hoped for did not happen - use this especially when this is shown in the way that someone looks, sounds etc: · He looked utterly dejected when she told him he'd failed again.· Greg sounded dejected. "Anything wrong?" I said.· One glance at the doctor's dejected expression answered my question.· Kirkwood was a particularly dejected figure after their defeat.
sad or disappointed because of a situation or because something you hoped for did not happen: · Jamie seems very downcast at the moment. He misses Jenny terribly.· "You mustn't be downcast" he said. "You can always try again."· The photograph of her sitting on her own made her look lonely and downcast.
informal sad because something slightly bad has happened or you do not have much hope for the future: · Don't look so glum! Things aren't as bad as all that.· Monday morning? Feeling glum ?· Sorry to be gloomy. I've had a bit of a bad day.· The doctor was a tall gloomy Scotsman.· The glum expression on the England manager's face said it all.· Why are you in such a gloomy mood?
someone who looks wistful has a slightly sad and thoughtful expression on their face, especially because they are thinking about the past or want something they cannot have: · Simon's face grew wistful as he thought about his happy student days.· She looked at them with a wistful smile. "I wish I could go with you.''
looking or sounding very sad, as if something very bad has happened: · His voice sounded so mournful that tears came into her eyes.· I could hear the slow, mournful music of the bagpipes.· The dog lay at his feet, looking up from time to time with big mournful eyes.
making you feel sad use this about a story, piece of music, period of time etc that makes you feel sad: sad time/day/moment/occasion etc: · The day her son left home was one of the saddest days of her life.sad news/story/song etc: · Fairuz sang a sad song that made us all feel homesick.· I don't like movies with sad endings.it is sad that: · It's very sad that she died before her children grew up.
: unhappy childhood/marriage/year etc a time when you are unhappy because you are in a difficult or unpleasant situation: · Phil was married for three unhappy years.· Looking at that photo always bring back unhappy memories.· an unhappy love affair
a depressing experience, story, piece of news etc makes you feel that there is nothing to be happy about and not much hope for the future: · The Deerhunter was a very depressing movie about Vietnam.· It's such a depressing town - it's full of ugly, disused factories.· Listening to the news can be really depressing, when all you ever hear about is violence and crime.
an upsetting experience or event makes you feel very sad and often shocked: · Seeing her lying there in a hospital bed was a very upsetting experience.· She can't talk about her son's death - she finds it too upsetting.it is upsetting to find/know/learn etc something: · It's very upsetting to arrive home and find that your house has been burgled.
a time that is miserable is one when you are extremely unhappy because you are in a very unpleasant situation: · Factory workers during the 18th century led miserable lives.· The journey home was miserable. Everyone was depressed about losing the game.
a story, event, piece of news etc that is heartbreaking makes you feel extremely sad and sorry or extremely disappointed: · It's a heartbreaking moment when a great sportsman finally decides that it's time to quit.· The decision to kill the infected animals was a heart-rending one for farmers.it is heartbreaking to see/learn etc something: · Having worked so hard to start the business, it would be heartbreaking to see it all collapse.
a dismal place, situation, or time makes you feel unhappy and not at all hopeful: · It was a grey, dismal November afternoon.· Melinda joined her husband in Moscow, but soon found life there bleak and dismal.· The profit margin on hardware sales for the first quarter was a dismal 29%.
a place, activity, or time that is dreary is not at all interesting or enjoyable and makes you feel unhappy: · This room is so dreary. How can we brighten it up?· a dreary winter's day· Cooking for one person can be a dreary business, as many elderly people find.
a place or situation that is bleak is one in which there is nothing to make you feel cheerful or hopeful about the future: · The wild landscape was bleak and bare.· He gazed around the empty, bleak little room in despair.· Many people were facing a financially bleak Christmas.· The chief executive said that the company was looking at a bleak future.the outlook/prospect/future etc is bleak : · Prospects of success looked bleak as the opposition scored the first two goals.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY I spent the weekend feeling miserable. Jan looks really miserable. Why do you make yourself miserable by taking on too much work? Mosquito bites can make life miserable.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
I spent the weekend feeling miserable. Jan looks really miserable. Why do you make yourself miserable by taking on too much work? British English (=very miserable)
Mosquito bites can make life miserable. (=very unpleasant)· The refugees had to endure a miserable existence in the desert.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· You may be as miserable as the people who write to me about losing their jobs.· The truth of it was, as miserable as things were, I just wanted to say I had been there.· Laugh ... laughs with ... Weep ... alone. 10. As miserable as ... 21.· I wondered if there was another child in all those windows or all the world who felt as miserable as I did.· Her life has been quite as miserable as your Isabel's, I fear.· The Siege of Chattanooga had at least one very unusual aspect: Many of the besiegers were as miserable as the besieged.· Pam is about as miserable a person as anyone trotting around London can be.
· I never thought I was soon to see just how miserable the peoples of the earth can make life for themselves.· It lets me forget how miserable my life is.· Can't you see how miserable he is, how difficult all this is for him?· Again, I was moved that he should have perceived how miserable an exile to the Persian Gulf would have been.· The engines were just up there and their noise prevented us from thinking about how miserable it all might be.
· January, when most results are announced, will be more miserable than ever-particularly if consumer sentiment continues to deteriorate.· At Forty-second Street stand the twin apartment towers of Manhattan Plaza, grim reminders of two more miserable affairs.· Bathsheba was watching his expression closely, and she had never been more miserable.· The funeral of an old high-school classmate just makes him more miserable.· Oliver had never seen a dirtier or more miserable place.· She was more miserable about not being miserable.· She was even more miserable later because almost as soon as she arrived in her room she started to have toothache.· Every day they became more miserable.
· He had been at school almost six months, the most miserable time of his entire life.· Last year's prodigy, in sharp contrast, endured the most miserable day of his short and spectacular formula one career.· It was one of the most miserable days in my life.· It was a hell of a big thing, it was the most miserable New Year I have ever had.· Corbett then spent what must have been one of the most miserable nights he had ever experienced.· The summer holidays that year saw me at my most apathetic - and my most miserable.· She fully intended to give Matthew Blake the most miserable afternoon of company he had ever had!
· He felt wretched, in fact at times so miserable that he wanted to laugh out loud.· It could be a fit of laughter, Blue reasons, but then why would Black be so miserable?· My ribs were sore when I coughed, my tummy was bloated and painful, and I felt so miserable.· It was so miserable, growing up, not resembling any of my friends.· And if I made Joanne stay in, she would be so miserable, that it would make the baby miserable.· And so miserable that she felt she would never drag herself out of this pit of misery.· When I came here, she was so miserable.· She had never been so miserable in her life.
· They were finding it hard to make ends meet and life had become very miserable.· However, she admitted that she had felt very miserable for 3 or 4 months.· They were on the top floor of an old house and he was very cold and very miserable.
NOUN· For some, the floods meant a miserable day stuck indoors.· Last year's prodigy, in sharp contrast, endured the most miserable day of his short and spectacular formula one career.· It was one of the most miserable days in my life.· And full-back Robert Turner had a miserable day with his kicking, landing only two goals from seven shots.· Montgomerie looked the sharpest fielder on a miserable day when tea was delivered to the fielders after one hour's play.· Over £3,000 was raised at the event in 1988, even though it was a damp and miserable day.
· But at the same time I revelled in the unlovely sound because it might be the saving of my miserable life.· Inexorably, it pulls you into the folds of a miserable life of degradation, poverty, and humiliation.· The workers in Mirny are not well-off by any means; in fact, they lead miserable lives.
· He had been at school almost six months, the most miserable time of his entire life.· He is having a miserable time.· Bowater has had a miserable time since joining the Footsie last week, the share price falling a good 10 p.c.· For Davenport it represented a personal triumph, following the miserable time he endured while with Boro.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► as miserable/ugly/guilty as sin
1extremely unhappy, for example because you feel lonely, cold, or badly treated: - The lads were as cheerful as ever but guarded, like the possessors of unwelcome news.
I’ve been so miserable since Pat left me. I spent the weekend feeling miserable. Jan looks really miserable. Why do you make yourself miserable by taking on too much work?as miserable as sin British English (=very miserable)► see thesaurus at sad2 especially British English always bad-tempered, dissatisfied, or complaining: He’s a miserable old devil.3[usually before noun] making you feel very unhappy, uncomfortable etc: They endured hours of backbreaking work in miserable conditions. Mosquito bites can make life miserable.4miserable weather is cold and dull, with no sun shining: It was a miserable grey day. two weeks of miserable weather5[only before noun] very small in amount, or very bad in quality: I can hardly afford the rent on my miserable income. The team gave a miserable performance.6miserable failure British English a complete failure: Her attempts to learn to drive had been a miserable failure.—miserably adverb: I failed miserably in my duty to protect her.