deplorable
de·plor·a·ble/dəˈplɔɹəb(ə)l/adjective, noun
deplorable is spelled D-E-P-L-O-R-A-B-L-E: 10 letters and 4 syllables (de·plor·a·ble). It appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, deplorable means “To be felt sorrow for; worthy of compassion; lamentable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in deplorable?
| Letters | 10: D-E-P-L-O-R-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: de·plor·a·ble |
| In writing | 1.6 times per million words; the 22,362nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is deplorable?
Deplorable appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce deplorable?
- UK /dɪˈplɔːɹəbl̩/
- US /dəˈplɔɹəb(ə)l/
Deplorable has 4 syllables, split de·plor·a·ble in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Rho9998-deplorable.wav, En-us-deplorable.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of deplorable
- more deplorable comparative
- most deplorable superlative
- deplorables plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does deplorable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
To be felt sorrow for; worthy of compassion; lamentable.
We were all saddened by the deplorable death of his son.
- 2
Deserving strong condemnation; shockingly bad, wretched.
Poor children suffer permanent damage due to deplorable living conditions and deplorable treatment by law enforcement.
noun
- 1
A person or thing that is to be deplored.
- 2
USderogatoryA supporter of Donald Trump.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Deplorable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | bedauerlich, bedauernswert, beklagenswert , miserabel, schimpflich, skandalös |
| Portuguese | deplorável, lamentável , desprezível |
| Spanish | deplorable, lamentable |
| French | déplorable, lamentable, pitoyable |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does deplorable come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).