pity

noun \ ˈpi-tē \

Updated on: 22 May 2018

Definition of pity

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

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Examples of pity in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of pity from the Web

Well, people certainly have a lot to say on the matter: There are some who take pity on Meghan's dad.

— amanda garrity, Good Housekeeping, "The News About Meghan Markle's Dad Has People Feeling Very Emotional," 15 May 2018
Parents are increasingly giving their daughters boy names like James and Finn; few among us would dare give our sons a girl name, because pity the boy named Jenn or Sofia.

— elissa strauss, CNN, "Why girls can be boyish but boys can't be girlish," 12 Apr. 2018
Both authors washed up briefly in southern Italy (Levi was exiled by the fascists, Lewis was an intelligence officer with the Allies) and wrote about it with insight, affection, pity, humor and harrowing precision.

— ben downing, WSJ, "‘Neapolitan Chronicles’ Review: Naples Painted Black," 6 Apr. 2018
As for Eleanor, Patrick’s mother (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh), the novels depict her, unforgivingly, as a monster of neglect and deluded self-pity.

— New York Times, "Benedict Cumberbatch Just Crossed the Last Role Off His Bucket List," 3 May 2018
What was depression becomes expression, and self-pity and helplessness are transformed into dignity, integrity, and courage.

— refinery29.com, "Ashley Judd, #MeToo Survivor: How I Healed, and How You Can Too," 1 May 2018
That setting aside the brooding self-pity that made Views such a bummer, and the resolute chill of More Life, and delivering an out-and-out anthem—which lo and behold is not about him—is the endorphin rush America needed.

— taylor antrim, Vogue, "Is Drake’s "Nice for What" A Problem for Instagram?," 13 Apr. 2018
Using the tenets of a police procedural, Schaffhausen delves into the emotional landscape of a young woman whose daily existence is about moving forward and not succumbing to self-pity or even revenge toward the man who wanted to kill her.

— olin h. cogdill, Philly.com, "'Vanishing Season': The making of a survivor," 28 Jan. 2018
To imply pity suggests there is something wrong with having a child with Down syndrome when a lot of mothers embrace their situation and enjoy their children like all mothers do.

— naomi williamson, Woman's Day, "10 Things You Should Never Say to a Mother of a Child with Down Syndrome," 23 June 2014

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of pity

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

pity Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of 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.