as in brutes
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
the clerk was an ungrateful wretch who stole money from his employer's cash register
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wretches
Noun
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For much of his career, Skarsgård has gravitated toward characters who weaponize physical presence — Vikings, tech titans and mythic brutes whose power is immediately legible.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026 -
Credit to producers Tim Zinnemann and George Linder for selecting a veritable array of brutes to wage battle with Arnold.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Head coach Patty Gasso and her bunch remain the biggest villains in the Texas softball universe.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
6 Feb. 2026
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As the Masters of the Universe makes its way to the big screen, one of Saturday morning cartoons’ most iconic villains is getting the cinematic treatment.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Monster High centers around a fictional high school attended by the teenage children of famous monsters and has expanded into various forms of media thus far.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
3 Feb. 2026
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Original characters will return to fight new monsters and solve a paranormal mystery.—
Marina Johnson,
IndyStar,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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There are sounds and shadows in the forest; the Devil, or devils, may be walking the earth.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
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And then there are the infernal workers who make sure that Lucifer’s realm runs smoothly, among them farting devils, giants in chains, and a flying monster with the body of a serpent and the face of an honest man.—
Eric Bulson,
The Atlantic,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Violence is widespread in the city proper, with large encampments where meth and other drugs are readily available and criminals reportedly exploit the city’s free bus system to carry out offenses.—
Michael Ruiz , Adriana James-Rodil,
FOXNews.com,
13 Feb. 2026
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Godwin is well known in the space, having assisted law enforcement nationwide leading to the removal of hundreds of criminals from the streets.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Despite the wholesale change in how California sentences juvenile offenders, outrage over the crime has not faded.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
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In 2024, the Associated Press reported that inmates at a Virginia facility that predominantly holds mentally ill offenders were hospitalized for hypothermia at least 13 times over the course of three years.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
8 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Wretches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wretches. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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