pity

1 of 2

noun

ˈpi-tē 

plural pities

1

a

: sympathetic sorrow for one suffering, distressed, or unhappy

b

: capacity to feel pity

2

: something to be regretted

it's a pity you can't go

pity

2 of 2

verb

pitied; pitying

transitive verb

: to feel pity for

intransitive verb

: to feel pity

Synonyms

Noun

• shame

Verb

• love
• feel (for)
• bleed (for)
• sympathize (with)
• understand

Choose the Right Synonym for pity

pity, compassion, commiseration, condolence, sympathy mean the act or capacity for sharing the painful feelings of another.

pity implies tender or sometimes slightly contemptuous sorrow for one in misery or distress.

felt pity for the captives

compassion implies pity coupled with an urgent desire to aid or to spare.

treats the homeless with great compassion

commiseration suggests pity expressed outwardly in exclamations, tears, or words of comfort.

murmurs of commiseration filled the loser's headquarters

condolence applies chiefly to formal expression of grief to one who has suffered loss.

expressed their condolences to the widow

sympathy often suggests a tender concern but can also imply a power to enter into another's emotional experience of any sort.

went to my best friend for sympathy

in sympathy with her desire to locate her natural parents

Examples of pity in a Sentence

Noun

She has had a hard life and deserves your pity.

I felt deep pity for the lost dog.

He didn't live to see his daughter grow up, and that's a pity.

Verb

I pity anyone who has to work at that place.

I always pity the people who have to work in this freezing weather.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This momentary pause, this saving interruption of the headlong, breathless trajectory of rape or murder, admitted a kind of compassion, pity, even tenderness, halting injustice in its tracks. —Sarah Beckwith, New Yorker, 26 May 2025

One of the earliest warnings about pity in Western philosophy comes from the Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus. —Colin Marshall, The Conversation, 22 May 2025

Verb

This turtle is not to be mocked, and not to be pitied either. —A.o. Scott, New York Times, 13 June 2025

Unable to leave Bangkok since Katherine placed him on a no-fly list out of spite, the once-great agent has become content to slowly drink himself to death among Thai locals who pity him. —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English pite, from Anglo-French pité, from Latin pietat-, pietas piety, pity, from pius pious

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Phrases Containing pity

• have mercy/pity
• more's the pity
• self-pity
• take pity on

Rhymes for pity

• bitty
• city
• ditty
• gritty
• kitty
• nitty
• pretty
• witty
• atomicity
• catholicity
• ellipticity
• historicity

Kids Definition

pity

1 of 2 noun

ˈpit-ē 

plural pities

1

: sympathetic sorrow for one suffering, distressed, or unhappy : compassion

2

: something to be regretted

it's a pity you can't go

pity

2 of 2 verb

pitied; pitying

: to feel pity for