Words / C2

LAM-uh-nt-uh-bl/ˈlæməntəbl/

Lamentable means regrettably poor or deplorable (formal): a lamentable failure, lamentable taste. Bad and poor are everyday; egregious (already in the dictionary) is shockingly bad in a glaring way. A blight (already in the dictionary) is the spoiling force itself, not the judgement. An empty n is a finding, not a layout choice.

Meaning

Regrettably poor or deplorable (formal).

Examples

• “An empty n is lamentable, not a formatting nicety.”
• “Poor is everyday. Egregious is glaringly bad (already in C2). A blight is the spoiling force (already in C2). A short appendix can still be complete. An empty cell is not a small gap; it is none. Write the number or write that it is missing.”

Good to know

Deplorably regrettable (formal). Everyday: poor / regrettable. Close: egregious (already in C2). Contrast: blight (the spoiling force — already in C2). Layout ≠ an n.

Near in meaning

deplorable, regrettable, woeful, pitiful

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