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
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
Trump is enacting Project 2025 nearly to the letter, deploying executive orders, lawsuits, and rhetorical bombast in an effort to force judges, law firms, cultural institutions, university presidents, and press barons into postures of pitiable obedience.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pitiable
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
Trump is enacting Project 2025 nearly to the letter, deploying executive orders, lawsuits, and rhetorical bombast in an effort to force judges, law firms, cultural institutions, university presidents, and press barons into postures of pitiable obedience.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pitiable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pitiable
Adjective
-
The Browns have scored the second-fewest points in the NFL, ahead of only the pitiful Tennessee Titans.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
28 Sep. 2025
-
On the side of the highway, Wilson cuts a pitiful, solitary figure.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Characters can be pathetic, and frank about their Toledo Truth Teller’s bleak prospects.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
23 Sep. 2025
-
Jimmy Kimmel is a pathetic hate monger.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Similar protests occurred in Brazil over steep living costs and poor healthcare and education ahead of the country hosting the 2014 World Cup tournament.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
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Over time, dysfunctional breathing reinforces poor posture and scapular instability.—
Dana Santas,
CNN Money,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Another main issue is that the power grind itself now being the endgame is no longer a good motivator to play, nor is the Tier system with 3s not much different than 4s or 5s, and all past weapons being somewhat lame now outside of that system entirely.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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Paine proposed a lump sum payment of £15 (£2,306 in 2025) to everyone reaching the age of twenty-one and a £10 (£1,537 in 2025) annual pension for the blind and lame, as well as for those fifty and older.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
One purveyor of fairy tales that wasn’t afraid of a sad ending?—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
3 Oct. 2025
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Sade Bess, a Combs fan from Brooklyn, left the court’s overflow observation room looking both sad and relieved.—
Jennifer Peltz,
Fortune,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Yes, Baltimore’s defense is wretched, so don’t count on this being a cure-all, exactly.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
29 Sep. 2025
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Rather, the wretched truth is a reminder that history’s wins are often, if not always, accompanied by terrible loss — that, sometimes, what was cast as victory may have actually been defeat.—
Andrea Williams,
Nashville Tennessean,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This World Cup wasn’t going to be cheap to attend, but these memories for life cost so much that swathes of people can’t even toy with the idea.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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Utility executives and analysts have said clean energy projects are crucial to help power new data centers and factories, because they can be built quickly and produce electricity that is relatively cheap.—
Michael Copley,
NPR,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The same goes for Treinen, who endured a miserable September, allowing 12 runs (10 earned) in 9 1/3 innings.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
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And so, a miserable team performance was cemented into a 26-21 loss, the team’s first of the year.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pitiable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pitiable. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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