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

Even the minimum requirement — qualifying for the Champions League — depends on it because six points out of a possible 18 away from home so far is pitiful. —James Pearce, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025

With a release on just over 2,000 screens, that's a pitiful per-theater-average of $649. —Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2025

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

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