pity

1 of 2

noun

plural pities
1
a
: sympathetic sorrow for one suffering, distressed, or unhappy
b
: capacity to feel pity
2
: something to be regretted
it's a pity you can't go

pity

2 of 2

verb

pitied; pitying

transitive verb

: to feel pity for

intransitive verb

: to feel pity
Choose the Right Synonym for pity

pity, compassion, commiseration, condolence, sympathy mean the act or capacity for sharing the painful feelings of another.

pity implies tender or sometimes slightly contemptuous sorrow for one in misery or distress.

felt pity for the captives

compassion implies pity coupled with an urgent desire to aid or to spare.

treats the homeless with great compassion

commiseration suggests pity expressed outwardly in exclamations, tears, or words of comfort.

murmurs of commiseration filled the loser's headquarters

condolence applies chiefly to formal expression of grief to one who has suffered loss.

expressed their condolences to the widow

sympathy often suggests a tender concern but can also imply a power to enter into another's emotional experience of any sort.

went to my best friend for sympathy
in sympathy with her desire to locate her natural parents

Examples of pity in a Sentence

Noun She has had a hard life and deserves your pity. I felt deep pity for the lost dog. He didn't live to see his daughter grow up, and that's a pity. Verb I pity anyone who has to work at that place. I always pity the people who have to work in this freezing weather.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
More's the pity, this magnificently weird idea has a certain practicality to it, as well as a truly bizarre aesthetic that would definitely turn heads on the street - while not so much as raising an eyebrow when parked. New Atlas, 11 Jan. 2025 Yukio Mishima was a great writer, but the manner of his death, by seppuku, slitting his stomach with a samurai sword, may now be better known to most people than his novels or plays—a pity, because many of his novels are very much worth reading. Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 9 Jan. 2025
Verb
Gi-hun and Jun-ho’s simultaneous searches have been equally unsuccessful, and the people in their lives seem to pity them. Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 26 Dec. 2024 Jesse Eisenberg — who wrote, directed, and stars opposite Culkin — is the ostensible protagonist David, Benji’s uptight, socially awkward cousin who envies and pities him in equal measure, but A Real Pain is Culkin’s showcase. Rachel Handler, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pity 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English pite, from Anglo-French pité, from Latin pietat-, pietas piety, pity, from pius pious

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of pity was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near pity

Cite this Entry

“Pity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pity. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

pity

1 of 2 noun
plural pities
1
: sympathetic sorrow for one suffering, distressed, or unhappy : compassion
2
: something to be regretted
it's a pity you can't go

pity

2 of 2 verb
pitied; pitying
: to feel pity for

More from Merriam-Webster on pity

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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