pathetic

[ puh-thet-ik ]

See synonyms for pathetic on Thesaurus.com

adjective

causing or evoking pity, sympathetic sadness, sorrow, etc.; pitiful; pitiable: Conditions at the refugee camp were far more pathetic than anything our training had prepared us for.
Informal. miserably or contemptibly inadequate: In return for our investment we get a pathetic three percent interest. The carpenter we hired is pathetic.

Archaic. pertaining to, caused by, or affecting the emotions: pathetic outbursts.

Origin of pathetic

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Middle French pathétique or from Late Latin pathēticus, from Greek pathētikós “capable of emotion, impassioned, sensitive,” equivalent to pathēt(ós) “subject to suffering; one who has suffered; subject to external influence or change; (in medicine) diseased” (derivative of páschein “to suffer”) + -ikos adjective suffix; see -ic

Rarely pa·thet·i·cal .

Other words for pathetic

1	plaintive, piteous, tragic, sad
3	touching, tender, emotional

See synonyms for pathetic on Thesaurus.com

Other words from pathetic

pa·thet·i·cal·ly, adverb
pa·thet·i·cal·ness, noun
hy·per·pa·thet·ic, adjective
hy·per·pa·thet·i·cal·ly, adverb
qua·si-pa·thet·ic, adjective
qua·si-pa·thet·i·cal·ly, adverb
un·pa·thet·ic, adjective
un·pa·thet·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with pathetic

bathetic, pathetic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pathetic in a sentence

The SEC’s statement Friday that it is looking “to identify potential wrongdoing” offered a wonderful little window into the regulators’ pathetic performance in recent decades.
GameStop mania exposes SEC’s failure as regulator | Steven Pearlstein | January 30, 2021 | Washington Post
Putin’s reconstructed Chekist state, with all its irradiated and immolated and bullet-strewn corpses, suddenly seemed ridiculous and pathetic.
Alexey Navalny Is Succeeding Where Putin's Other Opponents Have Failed. Why? | Michael Weiss | January 27, 2021 | Time
At what point does women being crass, loud, manish… unashamedly common and pathetically hungover [become] remotely humorous?
The Podcast Too Hot for iTunes | Rich Goldstein | February 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Has anyone else noticed how pathetically frightened the Republican Party is that Obamacare just might succeed?
The GOP Is Terrified Obamacare Could Be a Success | Jon Favreau | July 11, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The priorities were terribly and pathetically misplaced as they are at too many American universities.
Joe Paterno Was a Dictator: Penn State Deserved Its Punishment | Buzz Bissinger | July 24, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST

It cheats and it sweats and it eviscerates and procrastinates and it comes up pathetically short in almost every area.
Osama bin Laden Died a Fool and Has No Legacy | Dana Vachon | May 6, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
I was always "too drunk" or "had to get up early" or—pathetically—"was injured during rugby."
My Life as a Gay Officer | Anonymous | May 26, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
All these painful early experiences are told very pathetically in "Le Petit Chose."
The Nabob | Alphonse Daudet
He was always pathetically anxious to impress on us that he had given a good deal of pain.
The Romance of His Life | Mary Cholmondeley
Miss Breeze, who was rather pathetically dressed for church in all her best clothes, looked anxiously down at her friend.
Happy House | Betsey Riddle, Freifrau von Hutten zum Stolzenberg
The king had once said pathetically: 'It is only M. Turgot and I who love the people.'
Critical Miscellanies (Vol. 2 of 3) | John Morley
Rosie swallowed quite pathetically and blinked her eyes toward the ceiling.
The Rosie World | Parker Fillmore

British Dictionary definitions for pathetic

pathetic

/ (pəˈθɛtɪk) /

adjective

evoking or expressing pity, sympathy, etc
distressingly inadequate: the old man sat huddled in front of a pathetic fire

British informal ludicrously or contemptibly uninteresting or worthless: the standard of goalkeeping in amateur football today is pathetic
obsolete of or affecting the feelings

pl n

pathetic sentiments

Origin of pathetic

C16: from French pathétique, via Late Latin from Greek pathetikos sensitive, from pathos suffering; see pathos

Derived forms of pathetic

pathetically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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