someone you feel sorry for
"The poor wretch shivered in the rain, his clothes soaked and his hope fading."
An unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person.
"The wretched hobo shivered in the rain, looking like the unluckiest soul on the street."
In plain English: A wretched person is someone who feels terrible about themselves and acts badly because of it.
"The poor wretch shivered in the cold without even a coat to keep him warm."
Usage: Use "wretch" to express strong pity or contempt for someone suffering from misfortune rather than as a neutral description of sadness. It often functions as an emotional intensifier in phrases like "poor wretch," distinguishing it from milder terms like "victim."
Misspelling of retch.
"That was just a misspelling of retch, not an insult to anyone's character."
The word wretch comes from Old English wreċċa, which originally meant "exile" or "outcast." It traveled into modern usage to describe a miserable person rather than someone who has been banished.