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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