The meaning of PITIFUL is full of pity : compassionate. How to use pitiful in a sentence.

PITIFUL meaning: 1. making people feel sympathy: 2. used to say that you consider something to be very bad or not…. Learn more.

PITIFUL definition: evoking or deserving pity. See examples of pitiful used in a sentence.

1. evoking or deserving pity: a pitiful fate. 2. arousing contempt by smallness, poor quality, etc.: pitiful attempts. 3. Archaic. full of pity; compassionate. syn: pitiful, pitiable, piteous apply to that …

Dec 29, 2025 · pitiful (comparative pitifuller, superlative pitifullest) So appalling or sad that one feels or should feel sorry for it; eliciting pity. synonym Synonyms: see Thesaurus: lamentable …

There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the word pitiful, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

evoking or deserving contempt by smallness, poor quality, etc.: pitiful attempts. compassionate. pit′i•ful•ness, n. 1. lamentable, deplorable, woeful, pathetic. 2. Pitiful, pitiable, piteous apply to …

PITIFUL meaning: 1 : deserving or causing feelings of pity or sympathy; 2 : causing feelings of dislike or disgust by not being enough or not being good enough

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English pit‧i‧ful /ˈpɪtɪfəl/ adjective 1 someone who is pitiful looks or sounds so sad and unfortunate that you feel very sorry for them → pity The …

If you describe something as pitiful, you mean that it is completely inadequate.