Lamentable Meaning
/ləˈmɛn.tə.bəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjCausing sorrow, distress or regret; deplorable, pitiful or distressing.
Sentence Examples
And now let's discuss the lamentable state of affairs.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ condition of the abandoned building made everyone feel very sad.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is a ____ fact that many children around the world still do not have access to quality education.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English lamentable, from Middle French lamentable, from Latin lāmentābilis (“full of sorrow, mournful; deplorable”), from lāmentor (“lament”), from lāmenta (“wailing, weeping”). By surface analysis, lament + -able.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"In what a lamentable caſe were I,
If Nature had not giuen me wiſedomes lore?"
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iv:
"Moreover, in view of the lamentable present indecision of the Government in regard to electrification, the large-scale building of diesel power may prove to have been a farseeing move after all."
— 1961 February, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Trains Illustrated, page 86:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ condition of the abandoned building made everyone feel very sad.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is a ____ fact that many children around the world still do not have access to quality education.