pitiful

adjective

piti·​ful ˈpi-ti-fəl 

1

archaic : full of pity : compassionate

2

a

: deserving or arousing pity or commiseration

b

: exciting pitying contempt (as by meanness or inadequacy)

pitiful wages

pitifully

ˈpi-ti-f(ə-)lē 

adverb

pitifulness

ˈpi-ti-fəl-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of pitiful

• pathetic
• sad

Examples of pitiful in a Sentence

She made a pitiful attempt to complete her work.

that piece of junk is a pitiful excuse for a car

Recent Examples on the Web

Yet Plemons imbues him with despair, finding a pitiful fragility in his aggression. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2025

Jerry Jeudy has struggled, and the depth behind Jeudy has been pitiful. —Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025

Minnesota tallied a pitiful four assists in the second half, lowlighted by a final frame — where the real problems were truly on display — in which the Wolves had just one helper while shooting 24% from the field. —Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 28 Oct. 2025

The Browns have scored the second-fewest points in the NFL, ahead of only the pitiful Tennessee Titans. —Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pitiful

adjective

piti·​ful ˈpit-i-fəl 

1

: deserving or arousing pity or sympathy

a pitiful mongrel

2

: deserving pitying scorn (as by not being adequate)

a pitiful excuse

pitifully

-f(ə-)lē 

adverb