pitiful
adjective
piti·ful
ˈpi-ti-fəl 
1
archaic
: full of pity : compassionate
2
a
: deserving or arousing pity or commiseration
b
: exciting pitying contempt (as by meanness or inadequacy)
pitiful wages
Synonyms
Examples of pitiful in a Sentence
She made a pitiful attempt to complete her work.
that piece of junk is a pitiful excuse for a car
Recent Examples on the Web
Colorado should be ashamed of the pitiful condition of I-70.
—
Tj Hutchinson, The Denver Post, 14 June 2024
The stalker isn't romanticized or sexed up, but instead portrayed as mentally ill and deeply pitiful.
—Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2024
As for the Mets, thank God for the pitiful Marlins, the only thing standing in the way of them going on their first road trip of the season as a last-place team.
—Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 6 Apr. 2024
In contrast, tournament seeding in 2023 rewarded quality wins by selecting four-loss Indiana and Virginia Tech plus six-loss Stanford as 1-seeds while keeping two-loss LSU — the eventual national champion — a 2-seed due to a pitiful non-conference slate.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 12 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pitiful 
Tj Hutchinson, The Denver Post, 14 June 2024
The stalker isn't romanticized or sexed up, but instead portrayed as mentally ill and deeply pitiful.
—Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2024
As for the Mets, thank God for the pitiful Marlins, the only thing standing in the way of them going on their first road trip of the season as a last-place team.
—Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 6 Apr. 2024
In contrast, tournament seeding in 2023 rewarded quality wins by selecting four-loss Indiana and Virginia Tech plus six-loss Stanford as 1-seeds while keeping two-loss LSU — the eventual national champion — a 2-seed due to a pitiful non-conference slate.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 12 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pitiful
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pitiful.' 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 pitiful
Cite this Entry
“Pitiful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pitiful. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pitiful
adjective
piti·ful
ˈpit-i-fəl
1
: deserving or arousing pity or sympathy
a pitiful mongrel
2
: deserving pitying scorn (as by not being adequate)
a pitiful excuse
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