pitying

[pit-ee-ing]

adjective

1. full of or expressing pity.

   a pitying look.

Other Word Forms

• pityingly adverb
• unpitying adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pitying¹

First recorded in 1640–50; pity + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Her pitying glance and dismissive head shake were particularly effective in communicating disgust and amusement as her opponent claimed that immigrants were eating their neighbor’s pets and newborn babies were being killed in post-birth abortions.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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.

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Josh: In our quest to become better recyclers, Melissa, I found myself pitying the ephemeral life of a pizza box.

Read more on Seattle Times

Mainstream media churns out a seemingly endless number of articles complaining that women allegedly refuse to get married, and pitying men left alone by those stubbornly single ladies.

Read more on Salon

"I didn't want it to be a 'doom and gloom moment' because I can't deal with people pitying me," she says.

Read more on BBC