Definition of "deplorable" []

• Worthy of severe condemnation or reproach: a deplorable act of violence. (adjective)
• Lamentable; woeful: My finances were in a deplorable state of neglect. (adjective)
• Wretched; bad: deplorable housing conditions in the inner city. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "State Department spokesman Mark Toner says if reports that government security forces contributed to her death are accurate, then it demonstrates what he calls a "deplorable disregard for human dignity and respect" by Iranian authorities."
• "Radio Zambia Saturday quoted Kaunda as urging the South African government to intervene quickly to stop what he termed a deplorable human carnage."
• "He also made reference to the prisoner abuse scandal, saying the world has been troubled by what he called deplorable events."