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
Synonyms
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
The whole pitiful saga does have the ring of destiny calling at last, with nothing but kind words.
—
Hannah Gold, Harper's Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023
The Hamas terror attack, together with the ongoing Ukraine war and the looming Chinese threat to Taiwan, is putting a spotlight on the pitiful state of our capacity to manufacture the weapons necessary to the defense of our allies and ourselves.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 13 Oct. 2023
One Israeli police officer, his pistol a pitiful riposte to the automatic weapons of Hamas terrorists, screamed at her to go east, away from Gaza.
—Roger Cohen Avishag Shaar-Yashuv, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2023
Asher is pitiful and awkward and deeply petty, the kind of socially oblivious man who regularly puts his foot in his mouth and spends lots of time on the phone with customer service trying to get small refunds.
—Vulture, 13 Oct. 2023
Facing elimination in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Wednesday night, their backs against the wall following two home losses to start the postseason, the Dodgers crumbled for good in pitiful and, given their seasonlong pitching problems, predictable fashion.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023
The idea was to experience the music from within, however pitiful the results.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Coming out of the halftime locker room after a pitiful start, the Timbers dialed up the intensity.
—oregonlive, 26 Aug. 2023
The sad truth is that any Democratic candidate, no matter how pitiful, would beat Donald Trump at this point.
—Readers, WSJ, 25 Aug. 2023
See More
Hannah Gold, Harper's Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023
The Hamas terror attack, together with the ongoing Ukraine war and the looming Chinese threat to Taiwan, is putting a spotlight on the pitiful state of our capacity to manufacture the weapons necessary to the defense of our allies and ourselves.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 13 Oct. 2023
One Israeli police officer, his pistol a pitiful riposte to the automatic weapons of Hamas terrorists, screamed at her to go east, away from Gaza.
—Roger Cohen Avishag Shaar-Yashuv, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2023
Asher is pitiful and awkward and deeply petty, the kind of socially oblivious man who regularly puts his foot in his mouth and spends lots of time on the phone with customer service trying to get small refunds.
—Vulture, 13 Oct. 2023
Facing elimination in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Wednesday night, their backs against the wall following two home losses to start the postseason, the Dodgers crumbled for good in pitiful and, given their seasonlong pitching problems, predictable fashion.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023
The idea was to experience the music from within, however pitiful the results.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Coming out of the halftime locker room after a pitiful start, the Timbers dialed up the intensity.
—oregonlive, 26 Aug. 2023
The sad truth is that any Democratic candidate, no matter how pitiful, would beat Donald Trump at this point.
—Readers, WSJ, 25 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pitiful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of pitiful was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near pitiful
Cite this Entry
“Pitiful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pitiful. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
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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
More from Merriam-Webster on pitiful
Nglish: Translation of pitiful for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of pitiful for Arabic Speakers
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