miserable
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Very bad; unskilled.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mizuhruhbuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Very bad (at something); unskilled, incompetent.
“He's good at some sports, like tennis, but he's just miserable at football.”
Wretched; worthless; mean.
In a state of misery: very sad, ill, or poor.
noun
A miserable person; a wretch.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Very bad (at something); unskilled, incompetent.
Used this way, miserable is a common word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.
“He's good at some sports, like tennis, but he's just miserable at football.”
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Strong
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use miserable
- “He's good at some sports, like tennis, but he's just miserable at football.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API (CC BY-SA 3.0). Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.