Link Centre Dictionary

deplorable

dep·lo·rable

UK/dɪˈplɔːɹəbl̩/ US/dəˈplɔɹəb(ə)l/ uncommon us

adjective

1.

bad; unfortunate

  • “my finances were in a deplorable state”
  • “a lamentable decision”
  • “her clothes were in sad shape”
  • “a sorry state of affairs”
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2.

of very poor quality or condition

  • “deplorable housing conditions in the inner city”
  • “woeful treatment of the accused”
  • “woeful errors of judgment”
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3.

bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure

  • “a criminal waste of talent”
  • “a deplorable act of violence”
  • “adultery is as reprehensible for a husband as for a wife”
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Origin

The adjective is borrowed from French déplorable (“lamentable, regrettable”), or from its etymon Late Latin dēplōrābilis + English -able (suffix meaning ‘relevant to, suitable to’). Dēplōrābilis is derived from Latin dēplōrō (“to bemoan, complain about; to bewail, lament, deplore”) + -ābilis (suffix meaning ‘able or worthy to be’); while dēplōrō is from dē- (intensifying prefix) + plōrō (“to cry out; to complain; to lament, deplore”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₃(w)- (“to flow; to swim”)). By surface analysis, deplore + -able. The noun is derived from the adjective. Noun sense 2 refers to a campaign speech by the American politician and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton (born 1947) during the 2016 United States presidential election calling half of the supporters of her Republican opponent Donald Trump (born 1946) a “basket of deplorables”.

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.