Need another word that means the same as “pitiful”? Find 45 synonyms and 30 related words for “pitiful” in this overview.
The synonyms of “Pitiful” are: deplorable, distressing, lamentable, sad, sorry, pathetic, pitiable, hapless, miserable, misfortunate, piteous, poor, wretched, disturbing, heartbreaking, moving, affecting, touching, plaintive, poignant, forlorn, abject, tragic, woeful, grievous, paltry, meagre, beggarly, insufficient, insignificant, trifling, negligible, derisory, dreadful, awful, terrible, hopeless, bad, feeble, well below par, inadequate, contemptible, despicable, laughable, worthless
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “pitiful” as an adjective can have the following definitions:
| abject | Most unfortunate or miserable. The abject condition of the peasants. |
| affecting | Touching the emotions; moving. A highly affecting account of her experiences in prison. |
| awful | Extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact. An awful risk. |
| bad | Feeling physical discomfort or pain tough is occasionally used colloquially for bad. A bad cut. |
| beggarly | Marked by poverty befitting a beggar. The stipend in 1522 was a beggarly 26 shillings. |
| contemptible | Deserving contempt; despicable. A display of contemptible cowardice. |
| deplorable | Bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure. A deplorable act of violence. |
| derisory | Ridiculously small or inadequate. His derisory gaze swept over her. |
| despicable | Deserving hatred and contempt. A despicable crime. |
| distressing | Bad; unfortunate. Some very distressing news. |
| disturbing | Causing anxiety; worrying. Distressing or disturbing news. |
| dreadful | Very unpleasant. You re a dreadful flirt. |
| feeble | Lacking strength of character. Feeble efforts. |
| forlorn | Pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely. The last forlorn attempt. |
| grievous | Of great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought. Grievous bodily harm. |
| hapless | (especially of a person) unfortunate. The hapless victims of the disaster. |
| heartbreaking | Causing or marked by grief or anguish. Her sigh was heartbreaking. |
| hopeless | Very bad or incompetent. Jess looked at him in mute hopeless appeal. |
| inadequate | Not sufficient to meet a need. Inadequate funding. |
| insignificant | Meaningless. A minor insignificant bureaucrat. |
| insufficient | Of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement. There was insufficient evidence to convict him. |
| lamentable | (of circumstances or conditions) very bad; deplorable. The industry is in a lamentable state. |
| laughable | Arousing or provoking laughter. A contribution so small as to be laughable. |
| meagre | Deficient in amount or quality or extent. A tall meagre man. |
| miserable | Of very poor quality or condition. Horribly wet and miserable conditions. |
| misfortunate | Deserving or inciting pity. |
| moving | Used of a series of photographs presented so as to create the illusion of motion. The moving parts of the machine. |
| negligible | Not worth considering. The effect was negligible. |
| paltry | Petty; trivial. A paltry wage. |
| pathetic | Inspiring scornful pity- Dashiell Hammett. He s a pathetic excuse for a man. |
| piteous | Deserving or inciting pity- Galsworthy. Piteous appeals for help. |
| pitiable | Deserving or inciting pity- Galsworthy. Pitiable lack of character. |
| plaintive | Expressing sorrow. A plaintive cry. |
| poignant | Keenly distressing to the mind or feelings. Poignant anxiety. |
| poor | (of a person) deserving of pity or sympathy. The proverbial poor artist living in a garret. |
| sad | Of things that make you feel sad. Sad news. |
| sorry | Feeling sad or distressed through sympathy with someone else’s misfortune. He looks a sorry sight with his broken jaw. |
| terrible | Used to emphasize the extent of something unpleasant or bad. The stranger gave a terrible smile. |
| touching | Arousing affect. His gratitude was simple and touching. |
| tragic | Relating to tragedy in a literary work. The tragic parents reached the end of their tether. |
| trifling | Not worth considering. A trifling sum. |
| well below par | In good health especially after having suffered illness or injury. |
| woeful | Of very poor quality or condition. Woeful treatment of the accused. |
| worthless | Having no real value or use. Joan had been deserted by a worthless husband. |
| wretched | Deserving or inciting pity- Galsworthy. Wretched prisoners huddled in stinking cages. |
| dejected | Sad and depressed; dispirited. He stood in the street looking dejected. |
| deplorable | Deserving strong condemnation; completely unacceptable. My finances were in a deplorable state. |
| disastrous | Having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin. United made a disastrous start to the season. |
| grieve | Feel grief. She grieved for her father. |
| hapless | Deserving or inciting pity. A hapless victim. |
| inauspicious | Contrary to your interests or welfare. My words with inauspicious thunderings shook heaven. |
| inferior | Of low or inferior quality. Inferior goods. |
| lamentable | Full of or expressing sorrow or grief. A lamentable decision. |
| loser | A contestant who loses the contest. South appeared to have three losers a trump a diamond and a spade. |
| miserable | (of a person) habitually morose. A miserable man in his late sixties. |
| mournful | Expressing sorrow. Stared with mournful eyes. |
| moving | Producing strong emotion, especially sadness or sympathy. The moving parts of the machine. |
| pathetic | Inspiring mixed contempt and pity. He s a pathetic excuse for a man. |
| pathos | A quality that evokes pity or sadness. The actor injects his customary humour and pathos into the role. |
| piteous | Deserving or inciting pity. A piteous cry. |
| pitiable | Deserving or inciting pity. Pitiable lack of character. |
| pity | A feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others. It s a pity he couldn t do it. |
| regrettable | (of conduct or an event) giving rise to regret; undesirable; unwelcome. The loss of this number of jobs is regrettable. |
| ruth | The great-grandmother of king David whose story is told in the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. |
| sad | Of things that make you feel sad Christina Rossetti. She doesn t like sad movies. |
| sadness | The quality of excessive mournfulness and uncheerfulness. It is one of life s sadnesses. |
| sorrow | An event or circumstance that causes sorrow. He tried to express his sorrow at her loss. |
| sorrowful | Causing grief. Sorrowful news. |
| sorry | Feeling regret or penitence. We feel so ashamed that we keep quiet about the whole sorry business. |
| touching | Arousing affect. A touching reconciliation scene. |
| tragic | Causing or characterized by extreme distress or sorrow. She wears tragic cardigans usually done up the wrong way. |
| unfortunate | A person who is considered immoral or lacking in religious faith or instruction, especially a prostitute. Those unfortunates whose lives are marred by poverty. |
| unhappy | Not satisfied or pleased with (a situation. Unhappy over her departure. |
| unlucky | Marked by or promising bad fortune. The visitors were unlucky to have a goal disallowed. |
| wretched | Of very poor quality or condition. A wretched life. |
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