pathetic
Americanadjective
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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.
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Informal. miserably or contemptibly inadequate.
In return for our investment we get a pathetic three percent interest. The carpenter we hired is pathetic.
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Archaic. pertaining to, caused by, or affecting the emotions.
pathetic outbursts.
adjective
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evoking or expressing pity, sympathy, etc
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distressingly inadequate
the old man sat huddled in front of a pathetic fire
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informal ludicrously or contemptibly uninteresting or worthless
the standard of goalkeeping in amateur football today is pathetic
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obsolete of or affecting the feelings
plural noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
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
Explanation
Something pathetic inspires pity and contempt. If your backhand is pathetic, you probably shouldn't try out for the tennis team. These days, when you see the word pathetic, it's pretty clear that it's no compliment. This is an insulting word for things that are so bad they bum you out. A sports team losing ten games in a row is pathetic. Someone who constantly lies, even though the lies are obvious, is pathetic. Trying to dunk a basketball and missing by three feet is pathetic. When something is astoundingly lame or awful, people love to say, "Wow. How pathetic."
Vocabulary lists containing pathetic
Common Senses: Path ("Feeling")
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Pathetic and prideful, yet ultimately a principled father, Oscar tries to revitalize his nonexistent career by encouraging one of his students to pursue poetry.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2025
"Pathetic," wrote California Governor Gavin Newsom on X in reaction to the announced agreement.
From Barron's • Nov. 10, 2025
Pathetic, because he wants so badly to be seen as suave and attractive, but fails miserably at it.
From Salon • May 15, 2024
“Choke job. Pathetic performance,” he tweeted after Sunday’s loss.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 15, 2022
“Guess I can’t even get Pathetic Prom right; that’s how pathetic I am,” Dill said breezily.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
