Retch is a verb. It means to vomit or to try to vomit. Wretch is a noun. It means (1) a miserable, unfortunate, or unhappy person or (2) a despicable person. Wretch is the correct spelling in the common phrase ink-stained wretch, an irreverent term for newspaper writers.Like most homophone pairs in which both words are relatively rare, retch and wretch are easily confused.
Examples
The misuse of wretch in place of retch is more common than the opposite error—for example:
Maybe that fat guy in a speedo making out with his girlfriend makes you want to wretch as you eat your Chipwich. [CBS New York]
I still have a memory of biting on a worm omelet and feeling the grit in the worm and wanting to wretch. [Miami Herald]
And these writers use the words correctly:
The sight of the government now having to back Andrew, as he is “unsackable”, makes one want to retch. [Guardian]
Field thought it was appropriate to get a bloke to paint the house in return for sorting out the poor wretch’s immigration status. [New Zealand Herald]
A separate system sprays a noxious compound that makes people retch, vomit and pass out. [NPR (article now offline)]
Without my mascara, I am a pale-eyed wretch whose eyes are fringed with invisible blonde tendrils. [Daily Mail]
