pathetically
Americanadverb
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.
I almost feel bad for him trying so pathetically to defend such an execrable entity like the Iranian regime.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
O’Brien argued that the nation’s labor laws were pathetically weak.
From Slate • Jul. 16, 2024
But Gosling, as the neediest, most pathetically insecure Ken of the lot, rises to delicious new levels of actorly self-mockery.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2023
But in the conversation of pathetically foolish sports moves in this town, the Wizards finding themselves in this position ranks among the worst.
From Washington Times • Jun. 19, 2023
My voice drifts off pathetically, so I say, “I’ve been thinking that I should do some sort of home-school program.”
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
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.
