pitiable
Americanadjective
-
evoking or deserving pity; lamentable.
pitiable homeless pets.
-
evoking or deserving contemptuous pity; miserable; contemptible.
a pitiable lack of character.
adjective
Synonym Usage
See pitiful.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pitiable
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Old French piteable, equivalent to pite(er) “to pity” + -able adjective suffix; see pity, -able
Explanation
Pitiable describes something that's pathetic or miserable. After learning about the pitiable conditions of schools in parts of rural India, you might decide to donate supplies to them. Just looking at pitiable gives you clues to its meaning. Pity is a feeling of sorrow for someone or something else, so something that's pitiable is worthy of pity. There's often a little bit of scorn thrown in, like the pitiable amount of cereal your stingy grandmother pours in your bowl at breakfast. In this case, there's some blame cast on the grandmother because she chooses to give so little cereal.
Vocabulary lists containing pitiable
Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Commonly Confused Words, List 8
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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.
Nobody cheers for Goneril and Regan as they wreak destruction on their pitiable father.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
As his tweet demonstrates, it's often too pitiable to warrant a word as powerful as "toxic."
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2024
So, let’s quickly run down some of the most hypocritical actors in this whole display, and check out their pitiable explanations.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2024
Apparently, nothing, because that’s what his defense did for the umpteenth game in completing this team’s startling tumble from the doorstep of the College Football Playoff semifinals to a pitiable pile of smoking wreckage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2023
Armstrong was in a pitiable condition of nerves.
From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
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.
