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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pitiful
Look, everyone points to injuries as the reason for the pitiful performance so far this season, but a lot of teams are dealing with injuries.
—
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 21 Apr. 2025
To repeat ourselves, New York City has long been pitiful in the public potty department.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 12 Apr. 2025
But the modern Democratic Party, rudderless and confused and reeling from a pitiful collective performance during Tuesday evening's presidential joint address to Congress, now confronts a fork in the road that's no joke.
—Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
In the director’s world, fathers are pitiful providers, mothers are blandly cheerful (while quietly suffering enormously), and the kids see far more than their parents do.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pitiful
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 21 Apr. 2025
To repeat ourselves, New York City has long been pitiful in the public potty department.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 12 Apr. 2025
But the modern Democratic Party, rudderless and confused and reeling from a pitiful collective performance during Tuesday evening's presidential joint address to Congress, now confronts a fork in the road that's no joke.
—Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
In the director’s world, fathers are pitiful providers, mothers are blandly cheerful (while quietly suffering enormously), and the kids see far more than their parents do.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pitiful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pitiful
Adjective
-
What with weakened teams and consistently pathetic performances, their league form on both their parts has been pathetic enough to be termed a dereliction of duty.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
-
Take yesterday’s left hook out of nowhere by President Donald Trump, bragging about doing something that would bust even this pathetic budget.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
21 May 2025
Adjective
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As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.—
Kevin Fisher-Paulson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
8 June 2021
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My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.—
Tim Neville,
Outside Online,
23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
-
This tactic is sometimes used to justify letting an employee go under the guise of poor performance.—
Sho Dewan,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
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The original doesn’t go that deeply into it, but this poor girl was essentially forced to be a teen mom at this time in her life when all of her friends would be graduating high school and dating and thinking about their futures.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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Stewart is still thanked by gay fans by creating such a rare, highly visible (albeit sad) representation.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
27 May 2025
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My back hurt from that sad excuse for a chair (seriously, who designs dining chairs to feel like medieval torture devices?).—
Renae Gregoire,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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Three or four people to one cabin was far cheaper than the same number of people booking three or four plane tickets to get to Spain.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
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Once delivered, framing and panel assembly are faster and cheaper than conventional builds—cutting structural build time by 40% and labor costs by 20%.—
Jennifer Castenson,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
Adjective
-
The Baltimore Orioles fired manager Brandon Hyde last week after a wretched start to the season, which followed a winter in which general manager Mike Elias could not land an upper-tier arm to improve the pitching staff.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
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Gilead is God’s kingdom on Earth, and the Commanders are his wretched priests.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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Martin Kove as John Kreese Martin Kove played John Kreese, Johnny's karate mentor, who encourages his students to play dirty and harass Daniel.—
Keith Langston,
People.com,
1 June 2025
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The infant was scheduled to be cremated, according to the release, but the body was accidentally taken to Shreveport with a load of dirty linens.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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The Angels left-hander began the season as one of their high leverage relievers, but a miserable outing in the season’s first week told him something wasn’t right.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
26 May 2025
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Walker wears his emotions more viscerally than most players mired in such a miserable start.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
25 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pitiful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pitiful. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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