1
as in pathetic
deserving pitying scorn (as for inadequacy)
that piece of junk is a pitiful excuse for a car
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lame
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
a pitiful coward
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in poor
deserving of one's pity
pitiful orphans who had lost everything in the war
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pitiful
Minnesota tallied a pitiful four assists in the second half, lowlighted by a final frame — where the real problems were truly on display — in which the Wolves had just one helper while shooting 24% from the field.
—
Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 28 Oct. 2025
On the side of the highway, Wilson cuts a pitiful, solitary figure.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Sewell did a lot to rescue quarterback Jared Goff’s career and transform the pitiful Lions into annual Super Bowl contenders.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Sep. 2025
The pitiful screaming of surviving family members can be heard.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pitiful
Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 28 Oct. 2025
On the side of the highway, Wilson cuts a pitiful, solitary figure.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Sewell did a lot to rescue quarterback Jared Goff’s career and transform the pitiful Lions into annual Super Bowl contenders.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Sep. 2025
The pitiful screaming of surviving family members can be heard.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pitiful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pitiful
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 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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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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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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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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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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Bliss is said to have examined Garfield's wounds with unwashed hands and dirty tools, and the president's death further damaged his reputation.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Nov. 2025
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Solar power cuts greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution from dirty generators that can cause health problems.—
Jeff Young,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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That was pointed out during Chipotle’s earnings report, which showed miserable results at the end of October.—
Jordan Valinsky,
CNN Money,
11 Nov. 2025
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Caesar and Coca were soon joined on the show by the diminutive Howard Morris, whom Caesar could hoist from the ground and glare at face to face, and by Carl Reiner, tall like Caesar but as happy as Sid was miserable—the ideal second banana.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pitiful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pitiful. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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