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
That’s how I felt — pathetically so — even as far as my relationship with Saul Zaentz and the horrible contract.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2025
These remarks often came in response to some pathetically softball questions from Lemon: “You are in charge of an incredible platform, Elon. How do you feel that’s going?”
From Slate • Mar. 19, 2024
You can't entirely blame them: It all seems like badly written fiction, acted by Z-listers who dress poorly, act pathetically and perform like drunken zombies.
From Salon • Sep. 21, 2023
Think also that you know of a good reason for your failure, which you have tried to hide, tried pathetically to hide and overlook, for five and twenty years.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
