Lamentable

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ləˈmɛn.tə.bəl/

Definitions

1. Deserving of grief or regret; extremely unfortunate or disappointing in a way that provokes sorrow
2. Regrettable in character or result, leading to feelings of sorrow or distress about its unfortunate nature
3. Marked by deep sadness or regret due to its unfortunate circumstances

Etymology: Lamentable comes into English from Middle French "lamentable," which itself borrowed the Latin "lāmentābilis," meaning "full of sorrow, mournful." Its Latin roots are "lāmenta," "wailing, weeping," and the verb "lāmentor," "to lament," so the word's core idea is audible crying. In English, the word sits comfortably alongside "lament" and "-able," and the shape of the Latin word shows the same pattern: a verb for mourning plus a suffix meaning "capable of being" or "deserving of." The sense has moved a long way from weeping. A lamentable situation today is not something that makes you cry aloud but something so disappointing or poor that it provokes regret. Medieval and early modern writers often used it in the older sense of "mournful" or "pitiful," and the modern meaning of "deplorable" grew out of that pitiful quality. Because the word was already in Middle English, its path into the language predates the later, more formal borrowings from Latin.

Synonyms: deplorable, regrettable, unfortunate

Antonyms: fortunate, blessed, happy