as in pitiful
deserving of one's pity
a piteous beggar huddled in the doorway of an abandoned building
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Recent Examples of piteous
An old woman and an old man, innocent as lambs, clambering over rubble with their piteous backpacks and bundles.
—
David Bezmozgis, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025
Subjects set up as snakes in the grass are given piteous endings.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2025
The word integral seemed to me particularly poignant, piteous.
—Joyce Carol Oates, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023
Later, Ivy interrogates Felix about having strayed dangerously from the straight-and-narrow, a confrontation that is agonizing to watch, as Mr. Torres’s performance gains in both piteous despair and angry ferocity.
—Charles Isherwood, WSJ, 17 Nov. 2022
Because the Grammys telecast draws generations of viewers, and because Grammy voters are drawn from a wide pool that skews older, what emerges on the show, and in the awards themselves, is a kind of piteous compromise that holds real innovation at bay.
—New York Times, 4 Apr. 2022
David Bezmozgis, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025
Subjects set up as snakes in the grass are given piteous endings.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2025
The word integral seemed to me particularly poignant, piteous.
—Joyce Carol Oates, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023
Later, Ivy interrogates Felix about having strayed dangerously from the straight-and-narrow, a confrontation that is agonizing to watch, as Mr. Torres’s performance gains in both piteous despair and angry ferocity.
—Charles Isherwood, WSJ, 17 Nov. 2022
Because the Grammys telecast draws generations of viewers, and because Grammy voters are drawn from a wide pool that skews older, what emerges on the show, and in the awards themselves, is a kind of piteous compromise that holds real innovation at bay.
—New York Times, 4 Apr. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piteous
Adjective
-
Gallup reached only 50,000 people, a pitiful fraction of The Literary Digest’s awe-inspiring mailbag.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Mercy came via a bye week, the pitiful Raiders and an inept Cowboys defense.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The pathetic leaks didn’t work.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
2 Mar. 2026
-
The jobs report was a complete failure, and his economic approval sits at a pathetic 39%.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Through its clear imagery, operators can navigate safely and assess fire scenes even with poor visibility.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Mar. 2026
-
An injection like this has a clear advantage over daily prevention pills in poorer countries, where patients – particularly young women – might struggle to access clinics or feel stigmatised for seeking treatment.—
Harriet Marsden,
TheWeek,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
As with much else in this wretched administration, the initial refusal to review Moderna’s vaccine was a transparent pretext for officials to pursue political and ideological preferences under the guise of regular government administration.—
The Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 Feb. 2026
-
There were still seasons, birds and bees, and days and weeks in all their wretched assuredness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Alex Caruso relishes making Jokic miserable.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Weegar has had a tough season, with his impact in basically every situation falling off during what’s been a miserable year all around in Calgary.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Piteous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piteous. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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