pity
Americannoun
-
pities
plural
-
sympathetic or kindly sorrow evoked by the suffering, distress, or misfortune of another, often leading one to give relief or aid or to show mercy.
to feel pity for a starving child.
- Synonyms:
- compassion, commiseration
-
a cause or reason for pity, sorrow, or regret.
What a pity you could not go!
adjective
verb (used with object)
-
pities,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pitied,
past participle, past
-
pitying
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
pities,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pitied,
past participle, past
-
pitying
present participle
idioms
noun
-
sympathy or sorrow felt for the sufferings of another
-
to have sympathy or show mercy for
-
something that causes regret or pity
-
an unfortunate chance
what a pity you can't come
-
it is highly regrettable (that)
verb
Synonym Usage
See sympathy .
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pitysimple
-
pitiessimple
-
have pitiedperfect
-
has pitiedperfect
-
am pityingprogressive
-
are pityingprogressive
-
is pityingprogressive
-
have been pityingperfect progressive
-
has been pityingperfect progressive
Past
-
pitiedsimple
-
had pitiedperfect
-
was pityingprogressive
-
were pityingprogressive
-
had been pityingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pity
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English pite, from Old French pite, earlier pitet, from Latin pietāt- (stem of pietās “dutiful respect, sense of duty”); see origin at piety
Explanation
If you feel pity, you feel sympathy for someone else's suffering. A documentary on prisoners who have been wrongfully convicted might make you feel pity for them. Use pity as a noun or a verb. You feel pity for the really bad singer so you try to look attentive, but then you pity yourself for having to suffer through his terrible rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." We also say something is a pity if it's something to be sad about. It's a pity that your computer crashed right after you finished your paper.
Vocabulary lists containing pity
"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
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"Fine?" Vocabulary from the short story
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"The People Could Fly," Vocabulary from the folk tale
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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.
See Examples For:
"He's a young, high-potential player – the pity is that he is not our player," said Wednesday's manager at the time, Danny Rohl, about his loan star during his early days at Hillsborough.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
"It's a pity" China has missed out on every World Cup except 2002, he said, given football's popularity at home.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
After receiving her payout in November 2025, she told the BBC: "At last, after 26 years, they've recognised justice," adding it was a "pity they took so long".
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
The impracticality of his suggestions is a pity, because one might imagine a more plausible alternative to nation-states, which are indeed struggling today.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Rowan was filled with pity for his suffering and wonder at his courage.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
What If they knew the panoply of pities we can name—pities for them, for ourselves?
From Scientific American ● Sep. 23, 2023
On days when my anxiety is raging, I picture myself as an old woman whom everyone pities, sitting all alone at my niece’s wedding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2021
She pities the park rangers who have to quote it on tours of Ford’s Theatre.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 13, 2021
He lost a leg in a childhood accident, and she’s the one in the family who never pities him—who expects him to be able to do everything others can.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2020
He thinks his wife hates him or pities him or both.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
An essential part of respect is to not be pitied.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025
His fans rolled with his excesses and pitied his life tragedies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2025
“I am not here to be pitied and I am not a victim,” he says.
From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2023
I pitied and feared for him as he suffers a series of painful humiliations.
From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2023
The town, instead of doubting her innocence, pitied her candor.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
“The waits are insane,” he said, pitying people who had only a day in the park and were hoping to hit all of the highlights by bus.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
It elicited pitying sighs from Labour's enlarged cohort of MPs, struggling to fit on the green benches on the government side of the House of Commons.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2024
Josh: In our quest to become better recyclers, Melissa, I found myself pitying the ephemeral life of a pizza box.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 19, 2024
"You know, these fears that people are looking at him and just pitying him."
From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2021
Ruthie gives me a pitying look before taking off back down the hall, to a meal that I am beginning to fear I may never get to enjoy.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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.
