pitiable
adjective
piti·able
ˈpi-tē-ə-bəl 
1
: deserving or exciting pity : lamentable
pitiable victims
2
: of a kind to evoke mingled pity and contempt especially because of inadequacy
a pitiable excuse
pitiableness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of pitiable in a Sentence
the sales presentation was a pitiable display of ineptitude and disorganization
a pitiable attempt at singing that generated snickers
Recent Examples on the Web
Chavez plays Lyle as the clearly dominant older brother with little remorse, while Koch's younger, more vulnerable Erik is doe-like and pitiable.
—
Lucy Ford, TIME, 24 Sep. 2024
In the sensitive hands of director Lila Neugebauer and her top-notch cast, these people are complicated and they’re blinkered, monstrous and pitiable, trying and failing, not individually hateful and collectively matured in a slow cooker of unexamined bias and malice.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 16 June 2024
What could have been just a mimicry of, say, Edward Norton in American History X becomes something distinctly pitiable and unnerving on its own terms, and Gosling chased the heights of this tormented-20-something performance for a long time, up until the next film on our list.
8.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 3 May 2024
The earnestness borders on pitiable — enough to warrant some modest reconsideration of the vision of one of America’s greatest visionaries.
—James Rosen, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for pitiable 
Lucy Ford, TIME, 24 Sep. 2024
In the sensitive hands of director Lila Neugebauer and her top-notch cast, these people are complicated and they’re blinkered, monstrous and pitiable, trying and failing, not individually hateful and collectively matured in a slow cooker of unexamined bias and malice.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 16 June 2024
What could have been just a mimicry of, say, Edward Norton in American History X becomes something distinctly pitiable and unnerving on its own terms, and Gosling chased the heights of this tormented-20-something performance for a long time, up until the next film on our list.
8.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 3 May 2024
The earnestness borders on pitiable — enough to warrant some modest reconsideration of the vision of one of America’s greatest visionaries.
—James Rosen, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for pitiable
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pitiable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pitiable
Cite this Entry
“Pitiable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pitiable. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
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