How to Use pitiful in a Sentence

pitiful

adjective

• She made a pitiful attempt to complete her work.
• My thoughts seemed so pitiful when put up against the words on the page.
  — New York Times, 2 Nov. 2021
• Alas, these local heat sources swamp the pitiful flames of primeval stars.
  — Quanta Magazine, 3 Dec. 2021
• Hardy looked at me, all sad and pitiful with the corners of his mouth folded down.
  — Seija Rankin, EW.com, 6 Oct. 2021
• Will the harsh weather mean poor growth and pitiful harvests?
  — Gemma Johnstone, The Spruce, 8 May 2026
• This could have been a sad or pitiful moment; instead, it was suffused with warmth.
  — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 12 June 2025
• 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
• Trump has made a pitiful shambles of what should have been a glorious moment.
  — David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026
• Poor, pitiful Joe Flacco was sacked eight times for a loss of 72 yards.
  — Mark Kiszla, The Denver Post, 17 Oct. 2019
• The same could be said about the people fighting over it, every last one of whom is greedy, selfish, and pitiful.
  — David Klion, The New Republic, 15 Oct. 2019
• The pitiful part of the entire scenario is that those of us this racial score-keeping is supposed to help are harmed the most.
  — WSJ, 11 Mar. 2018
• Through the years, black coaches have heard a host of excuses to explain away the pitiful numbers.
  — Jerome Solomon, ExpressNews.com, 27 June 2020
• Yep, Cousins still is a key player, even after his pitiful game against the Packers.
  — Bob Sansevere, Twin Cities, 29 Dec. 2019
• On the side of the highway, Wilson cuts a pitiful, solitary figure.
  — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
• Most of the time, experts say, vaguebooking boils down to a pitiful plea for attention on the part of the poster.
  — Charles Trepany, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2026
• Jerry Jeudy has struggled, and the depth behind Jeudy has been pitiful.
  — Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
• Elaine was a weak and pitiful victim, but Kaila was strong, fearless, and unbreakable.
  — Kaila Yu, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Aug. 2025
• At the bottom of the card is a pitiful solicitation that the card be returned.
  — John Hirschauer, National Review, 12 Oct. 2019
• The Pelicans had one last chance to score toward the end of a pitiful first-half performance.
  — Staff Report, NOLA.com, 29 Dec. 2020
• Granted, those three performances were pitiful.
  — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2026
• Hence the pitiful moment when Casey, progressing to the next level in karate, earns a yellow belt.
  — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 12 July 2019
• Mercy came via a bye week, the pitiful Raiders and an inept Cowboys defense.
  — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
• All the United States could muster was a pitiful men's curling bronze in 2006.
  — Matt Bonesteel, Anchorage Daily News, 23 Feb. 2018
• All the United States could muster was a pitiful men's curling bronze in 2006.
  — Matt Bonesteel, chicagotribune.com, 22 Feb. 2018
• The rear cargo space is pitiful for a vehicle of this size, price, and classification.
  — Jesus R. Garcia, Houston Chronicle, 15 Mar. 2026
• Texas Tech’s pass rush has been nothing short of pitiful in recent years, but the trend could shift with the names coming to Lubbock.
  — Dallas News, 2 Feb. 2022
• The pitiful screaming of surviving family members can be heard.
  — Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 12 Sep. 2025
• Yet Plemons imbues him with despair, finding a pitiful fragility in his aggression.
  — Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2025
• Here in his pitiful, mini Gaza where reasoning and logic struggle futilely.
  — Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 6 Jan. 2026
• Here in his pitiful, mini Gaza where reasoning and logic struggle futilely.
  — Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025