pitiful
adjective
piti·ful
ˈpi-ti-fəl 
1
archaic
: full of pity : compassionate
2
a
: deserving or arousing pity or commiseration
b
: exciting pitying contempt (as by meanness or inadequacy)
pitiful wages
Synonyms
Examples of pitiful in a Sentence
She made a pitiful attempt to complete her work.
that piece of junk is a pitiful excuse for a car
Recent Examples on the Web
As for what the men think, Nyoni doesn’t much care: Male voices here are heard only asking for money and food, pitiful dependants somehow granted premier social status.
—
Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 May 2024
Such retrospective image burnishing is belied by the glaring insecurity of global supply chains (as revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic) and the pitiful state of the U.S. defense industrial base (as revealed by the war against Ukraine).
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pitiful 
Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 May 2024
Such retrospective image burnishing is belied by the glaring insecurity of global supply chains (as revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic) and the pitiful state of the U.S. defense industrial base (as revealed by the war against Ukraine).
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pitiful
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pitiful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pitiful
Cite this Entry
“Pitiful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pitiful. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pitiful
adjective
piti·ful
ˈpit-i-fəl
1
: deserving or arousing pity or sympathy
a pitiful mongrel
2
: deserving pitying scorn (as by not being adequate)
a pitiful excuse
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