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:
And poor taste in design is a pity because it’s a bore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
“It’s a pity that we are losing a strong partner,” Zelensky said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
She isn’t a figure of pity or depravity, just a woman with the unsteadiness of a fawn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
"Neighbouring towns have bespoke clubs and clubhouses and facilities and it's a pity that a city the size of Derry doesn't have such a facility of its own," Bloomfield said.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
“It’s a pity now, Joe,” said I, “that you did not get on a little more, when we had our lessons here; isn’t it?”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
What If they knew the panoply of pities we can name—pities for them, for ourselves?
From Scientific American ● Sep. 23, 2023
She pities the park rangers who have to quote it on tours of Ford’s Theatre.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 13, 2021
In “Falling,” a mournful piano ballad, he pities himself after a breakup without getting creepy about it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2019
Like the unanalyzed souls Karen pities for their lack of self-knowledge, the reader of Sarah’s “novel” is blind.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2019
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
If I lived nearby, I could help out easily with prepared meals or some such, but I don’t want to make them uncomfortable or pitied by giving them cold hard cash.
From Slate ● Dec. 2, 2022
But the idea that Ukrainians are to be pitied is repugnant to him.
From New York Times ● Oct. 23, 2022
It was not that he pitied me but that he felt we were in the same boat for different reasons, and that I could understand his frustration just as he could countenance my withdrawal.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
The town moves from pitying her to whispering that she’s crazy, leaving her rutted in the anger stage of the grieving process.
From Salon ● Oct. 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
“I also knew I should be able to tell the darker stories, without having you pitying me.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
I sing in the children’s choir because Big Ma makes sure we motherless girls enjoy all the pitying looks the church can spare, whether we want them or not.
From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
