1
as in pitiful
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
the sales presentation was a pitiable display of ineptitude and disorganization
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pathetic
deserving pitying scorn (as for inadequacy)
a pitiable attempt at singing that generated snickers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in poor
deserving of one's pity
a pitiable, starving old dog
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of pitiable
The series’ pitiable ghost is Kayako (Takako Fuji), at the receiving end of violence in life, prone to continue inflicting violence on others in death.
—
Gayle Sequeira, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2025
Is there a more pitiable character in Virgin River than this woman, who was chasing after Jack while pregnant with a villain’s twins for at least a dozen years and now has to deal with the villain and the twins?
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 19 Dec. 2024
As pathetic and pitiable as Gloria is, Blethyn runs away with the whole movie.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 9 Dec. 2024
The Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping Act adds Florida’s most pitiable demographic to the menu.
—Fred Grimm, Sun Sentinel, 15 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pitiable
Gayle Sequeira, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2025
Is there a more pitiable character in Virgin River than this woman, who was chasing after Jack while pregnant with a villain’s twins for at least a dozen years and now has to deal with the villain and the twins?
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 19 Dec. 2024
As pathetic and pitiable as Gloria is, Blethyn runs away with the whole movie.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 9 Dec. 2024
The Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping Act adds Florida’s most pitiable demographic to the menu.
—Fred Grimm, Sun Sentinel, 15 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pitiable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pitiable
Adjective
-
But the modern Democratic Party, rudderless and confused and reeling from a pitiful collective performance during Tuesday evening's presidential joint address to Congress, now confronts a fork in the road that's no joke.—
Newsweek,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
-
My performance was beyond pitiful today, and has been for a while now.—
Ryan Morik,
Fox News,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Hechinger is the perfect choice for the role, bringing just the right of optimism and obliviousness to an endearingly pathetic dork who finds the opportunity to be heroic.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
2 Apr. 2025
-
Successful long ago, Shelley is no longer a selling Machine of any sort, and mostly just begs for a break in comically desperate appeals that ping-pong from belligerent to pathetic.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
There’s a real debate to be had about what responsibility better-off neighborhoods like Hyde Park have to help solve humanitarian problems that often are laid at the feet of poorer areas.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Apr. 2025
-
Job loss also results in people experiencing higher levels of depressive symptoms, poor health, loss of social support, and disruption of social and family ties, according to Jennie E Brand, author of The Far-Reaching Impact of Job Loss and Unemployment.—
Paul Klein,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.—
Kevin Fisher-Paulson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
8 June 2021
-
My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.—
Tim Neville,
Outside Online,
23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
-
Kwong grew up hearing stories of every kind about Manzanar—scary, sad, funny and infuriating.—
Rachel Ng,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Mar. 2025
-
Yet, whatever the deal means for Paul, Weiss, its acquiescence to Trump marks a sad day for the legal profession—or what once was a profession, and is now just another business.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The longtime Red Sox pitcher and current NESN analyst unloaded on Devers after his wretched season-opening series against the Rangers.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2025
-
The ones who weren’t downright frauds were only cracked and wretched old women with delusions.—
Charles Portis,
Harper's Magazine,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
In the early 1970s, the widespread availability of cheap, preformed fiberglass pools meant the rate of young children drowning soared.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
3 Apr. 2025
-
However, note that these are smaller models that could run on a less expensive GPUs or even a CPU with cheaper memory instead of the super expensive HBM memory currently used in all high-end accelerators.—
Karl Freund,
Forbes.com,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Before Minecraft, the turnout for major films at the box office has been middling to miserable.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Daryl was born in 1952, four years after the club’s last championship and just in time for four decades of miserable baseball on the lakeshore.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pitiable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pitiable. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share