pity

verb

pitied; pitying

transitive verb

: to feel pity for

intransitive verb

: to feel pity

Synonyms of pity

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

Examples of pity in a Sentence

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

There is nothing pitying and also nothing airbrushed in the pictures—just the occasional haze of a misty morning or the blurry tremor of a burning brush pile. —Casey Cep, New Yorker, 9 May 2026

Or, even better, don’t pity Carlson. —David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026

Instead, we are ridiculed and pitied globally. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 Apr. 2026

So pity the ordinary property owners who have to pay the taxman two times every year. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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
• smriti
• witty
• 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