miseria

misery

noun mee-SEH-ryah Less Common

Origin: From Latin miseria (wretchedness).

Also means

poverty

Usage Note

Miseria can denote deep poverty (vivir en la miseria) or general wretchedness and misery (la miseria de la guerra). In colloquial speech it also means a pathetically small amount of money: me pagaron una miseria (they paid me a pittance). The adjective miserable and the person noun miserable (a wretch) are related.

Examples

"Muchas familias vivían en la miseria."

Natural Translation

Many families were living in misery.

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