1
as in pitiful
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
the sales presentation was a pitiable display of ineptitude and disorganization
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pathetic
deserving pitying scorn (as for inadequacy)
a pitiable attempt at singing that generated snickers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in poor
deserving of one's pity
a pitiable, starving old dog
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pitiable
The Disability Culture Lab strives to change such narratives from pitiable to dignified by advising journalists on portraying disabled mindsets, pitching pieces involving disability issues, hiring disabled journalists to tell stories more authentically, and connecting journalists to experts.
—
Alan Schwarz, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Wilson puts most of his aw-shucks charm to the side to play this spacey wannabe, portraying Eli instead with a pitiable whine or some far-out detachment.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 12 June 2025
Nowhere good, is the answer, as these pitiable, middle-aged misfits gradually reveal lives that are likely unsalvageable.
—Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 1 May 2025
In some ways, both DeSantis and Poilievre are pitiable.
—Drew Nelles, Time, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pitiable
Alan Schwarz, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Wilson puts most of his aw-shucks charm to the side to play this spacey wannabe, portraying Eli instead with a pitiable whine or some far-out detachment.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 12 June 2025
Nowhere good, is the answer, as these pitiable, middle-aged misfits gradually reveal lives that are likely unsalvageable.
—Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 1 May 2025
In some ways, both DeSantis and Poilievre are pitiable.
—Drew Nelles, Time, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pitiable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pitiable
Adjective
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Even the minimum requirement — qualifying for the Champions League — depends on it because six points out of a possible 18 away from home so far is pitiful.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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With a release on just over 2,000 screens, that's a pitiful per-theater-average of $649.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Enter Claude Whelan, played by James Callis, a fine actor with a face that can contort itself into about a dozen different versions of misery and pathetic dismay.—
Brian Grubb,
Vulture,
29 Oct. 2025
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Ratcheting up the pressure on the pathetic Putin will be the only way this war ends.—
Chicago Tribune,
Twin Cities,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The Ministry of Environment blamed this year’s surge on a poor acorn harvest – which drove a similar spate of attacks in 2023.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Rather, the slow start (by Ovechkin’s standards) to this season seemed due more to poor puck luck.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The flowers are the best, even if the leaves are lame and flop over.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
25 Oct. 2025
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Cut to Culhane doing lame bits with chopsticks as walrus teeth.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Everyone's a little sad in The Holdovers, Alexander Payne's charmingly sour comedy about a student stuck at his New England boarding school over the holidays with only his grouchy professor (Paul Giamatti) and the school cook (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) for company.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Nov. 2025
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The 25-year-old wide receiver is sad to see his teammates go, but trusts the vision of the New York front office.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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In it, a batch of wealthy Chicago suburbanites one up each other in the wretched behavior department as a child’s welfare hangs in the balance.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
6 Nov. 2025
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When the din inside Rams Park had finally subsided, Arne Slot attempted to put a positive spin on a wretched night for Liverpool.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The Chinese retailer, known for its range of cheap ultra-fast-fashion clothing and criticisms of its labor and environmental practices, is nestled on the sixth floor of a more than century-old building in Paris, a city famous for high-end fashion and a recent green push.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
7 Nov. 2025
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The other side of this has been the money in the industry’s pivot first to cheaper talk shows, which don’t innovate enough to merit much critique, and now to a second pivot to turn those interview shows into video series, which makes podcasts more friendly on TikTok and Instagram and YouTube.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Zoning is not meant to be some sort of punishing thing meant to make a city miserable.—
Kim Velsey,
Curbed,
5 Nov. 2025
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But George appeared in just 41 games due to injury, while Embiid played in just 19 games, and the Sixers sagged to a miserable 24-58 finish.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pitiable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pitiable. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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