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misérable

miserable, wretched

adjective noun mee-zeh-RABL Less Common

Also means

pitiful, paltry

Usage Note

Misérable can describe extreme poverty (une vie misérable) or something contemptibly small (un salaire misérable). As a noun, un misérable means a wretch or scoundrel. Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables made the word internationally famous.

Examples

"Il vivait dans des conditions misérables."

Natural Translation

He lived in miserable conditions.

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