miserabile

Miserabile is an Italian adjective meaning pitiful, wretched, deplorable, or miserable. It can describe people, situations, or things that evoke pity, condemnation, or a sense of low quality. When applied to a person, miserabile often carries a pejorative tone, as in un miserabile, meaning a despicable or contemptible person. When used of a circumstance or condition, it conveys severity or sadness, as in una situazione miserabile. It can also describe a work or performance judged to be poor or offensively bad.

Etymology: the word derives from Latin miserabilis, from miserus “wretched, pitiable,” via Old Italian into modern Italian.

Usage notes: Miserabile is generally strong and may be offensive if directed at a person; context and tone determine whether it is simply descriptive or harsh. It is less common in formal writing than in colloquial speech or opinion pieces.

Synonyms and related terms include patetico (often more aesthetic or sentimental), deplorevole, brutto, scellerato (moral condemnation when applied to a person), and povero in the sense of poor quality; antonyms include nobile, degno, eccellente, and positivo in some senses.

In other languages, related forms exist: Spanish miserable, French misérable, both sharing the same Latin root.

See also: miseria (poverty or misery).