Wikimore

English

So appalling or sad that one feels or should feel sorry for it; eliciting pity.
Synonyms: piteous, pitisome, ruthful; see also Thesaurus:pitiful

Scotland has a pitiful climate.Category:English terms with usage examples#PITIFUL
Of an amount or number: very small.
Synonyms: few, meager, paltry, scant, scanty, thin

A pitiful number of students bothered to turn up.Category:English terms with usage examples#PITIFUL
(archaic Category:English terms with archaic senses#PITIFUL) Feeling pity; merciful.
Synonyms: commiserative; see also Thesaurus:merciful, Thesaurus:pitying
- c. 1588–1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, and are to be sold by Edward White & Thomas Millington, […], published 1594, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii], signature D3, verso:
  Some ſay that Rauens foſter forlorne children, / The vvhilſt their ovvne birds famiſh in their neſts: / Oh be to me though thy hard hart ſay no, / Nothing ſo kinde but ſomething pittifull.
  Category:English terms with quotations#PITIFUL
- 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
  Straightway, he now goes on to make a full confession; whereupon the mariners became more and more appalled, but still are pitiful.
  Category:English terms with quotations#PITIFUL

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

so appalling or sad that one feels or should feel sorry for it — see also poor,‎ aw,‎ lamentable,‎ deplorable,‎ sad

Category:Entries with translation boxes#PITIFUL

Belarusian: жа́ласны (žálasny)Category:Terms with Belarusian translations#PITIFUL
Bulgarian: жалък (bg) (žalǎk)Category:Terms with Bulgarian translations#PITIFUL, клет (bg) (klet)Category:Terms with Bulgarian translations#PITIFUL
Catalan: lamentableCategory:Terms with Catalan translations#PITIFUL
Chinese:
Cantonese: 慘 / 惨 (caam²)Category:Cantonese terms with redundant transliterations#PITIFUL Category:Terms with Cantonese translations#PITIFUL

Mandarin: 可憐 / 可怜 (zh) (kělián)Category:Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations#PITIFUL Category:Terms with Mandarin translations#PITIFUL
Sichuanese: 造孽 (zh) (zao4 nyie2)Category:Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations#PITIFUL Category:Terms with Mandarin translations#PITIFUL
Dutch: zielig (nl)Category:Terms with Dutch translations#PITIFUL
Finnish: säälittävä (fi)Category:Terms with Finnish translations#PITIFUL
French: pitoyable (fr)Category:Terms with French translations#PITIFUL
German: erbärmlich (de)Category:Terms with German translations#PITIFUL, kläglich (de)Category:Terms with German translations#PITIFUL, jämmerlich (de)Category:Terms with German translations#PITIFUL, mitleiderregend (de)Category:Terms with German translations#PITIFUL, bemitleidenswert (de)Category:Terms with German translations#PITIFUL, bedauernswert (de)Category:Terms with German translations#PITIFUL, erbarmungswürdigCategory:Terms with German translations#PITIFUL, Mitleid erregendCategory:Terms with German translations#PITIFUL
Greek: αξιολύπητος (el) (axiolýpitos)Category:Terms with Greek translations#PITIFUL
Ancient Greek: οἰκτρός (oiktrós)Category:Terms with Ancient Greek translations#PITIFUL
Ingrian: poloinCategory:Terms with Ingrian translations#PITIFUL
Japanese: 可憐な (ja) (かれんな, karen na)Category:Terms with Japanese translations#PITIFUL
Latin: miser (la)Category:Terms with Latin translations#PITIFUL, flēbilisCategory:Terms with Latin translations#PITIFUL
Māori: whakaarohaCategory:Terms with Māori translations#PITIFUL, hanga arohaCategory:Terms with Māori translations#PITIFUL
Navajo: baa hojoobáʼíCategory:Terms with Navajo translations#PITIFUL
Norman: pitchiabl'yeCategory:Terms with Norman translations#PITIFUL
Norwegian:
Norwegian bokmål: arm (no)Category:Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations#PITIFUL

Norwegian nynorsk: armCategory:Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations#PITIFUL
Polish: żałosny (pl)Category:Terms with Polish translations#PITIFUL
Portuguese: lamentável (pt)Category:Terms with Portuguese translations#PITIFUL
Russian: жа́лкий (ru) (žálkij)Category:Terms with Russian translations#PITIFUL, бе́дненький (ru) (bédnenʹkij)Category:Terms with Russian translations#PITIFUL, жа́лостный (ru) (žálostnyj)Category:Terms with Russian translations#PITIFUL, жа́лостливый (ru) (žálostlivyj)Category:Terms with Russian translations#PITIFUL
Spanish: lastimoso (es)Category:Terms with Spanish translations#PITIFUL, lastimero (es)Category:Terms with Spanish translations#PITIFUL, penoso (es)Category:Terms with Spanish translations#PITIFUL, lamentoso (es)Category:Terms with Spanish translations#PITIFUL, achará (es)Category:Terms with Spanish translations#PITIFUL, mísero (es)Category:Terms with Spanish translations#PITIFUL
Ukrainian: жа́лісний (žálisnyj)Category:Terms with Ukrainian translations#PITIFUL
Unami: këtëmaksiCategory:Terms with Unami translations#PITIFUL

of an amount or number: very small

Category:Entries with translation boxes#PITIFUL

Bulgarian: нищожен (bg) (ništožen)Category:Terms with Bulgarian translations#PITIFUL
Catalan: miserable (ca)Category:Terms with Catalan translations#PITIFUL
Chinese:
Mandarin: 很少 (hěn shǎo)Category:Terms with Mandarin translations#PITIFUL
Finnish: säälittävä (fi)Category:Terms with Finnish translations#PITIFUL
French: dérisoire (fr)Category:Terms with French translations#PITIFUL
German: kümmerlich (de)Category:Terms with German translations#PITIFUL, armselig (de)Category:Terms with German translations#PITIFUL
Russian: жа́лкий (ru) (žálkij)Category:Terms with Russian translations#PITIFUL, ничто́жный (ru) (ničtóžnyj)Category:Terms with Russian translations#PITIFUL, ми́зерный (ru) (mízernyj)Category:Terms with Russian translations#PITIFUL
Spanish: mísero (es)Category:Terms with Spanish translations#PITIFUL

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Category:Entries with translation boxes#PITIFUL

Dutch: ^{(please verify)} zielig (nl)Category:Terms with Dutch translations#PITIFUL Category:Requests for review of Dutch translations#PITIFUL, ^{(please verify)} triest (nl)Category:Terms with Dutch translations#PITIFUL Category:Requests for review of Dutch translations#PITIFUL (1), ^{(please verify)} deplorabel (nl)Category:Terms with Dutch translations#PITIFUL Category:Requests for review of Dutch translations#PITIFUL (1)
Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} kompatindaCategory:Terms with Esperanto translations#PITIFUL Category:Requests for review of Esperanto translations#PITIFUL
Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} מעורר רחמיםCategory:Terms with Hebrew translations#PITIFUL Category:Requests for review of Hebrew translations#PITIFUL (meʿorer raḥamim), ^{(please verify)} עלוב (he)Category:Terms with Hebrew translations#PITIFUL Category:Requests for review of Hebrew translations#PITIFUL
Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} kasihan (id)Category:Terms with Indonesian translations#PITIFUL Category:Requests for review of Indonesian translations#PITIFUL
Italian: ^{(please verify)} pietoso (it)Category:Terms with Italian translations#PITIFUL Category:Requests for review of Italian translations#PITIFUL

Adverb

pitiful (comparative more pitiful, superlative most pitiful)Category:English lemmas#PITIFUL Category:English adverbs#PITIFUL Category:English entries with incorrect language header#PITIFUL Category:Pages with entries#PITIFUL Category:Pages with 1 entry#PITIFUL

(colloquial Category:English colloquialisms#PITIFUL, dialect Category:English dialectal terms#PITIFUL) In a pitiful manner; pitifully; piteously; pathetically.
- 1906, Rudyard Kipling, Puck of Pook's Hill, London: Penguin Books, published 1994, page 194:
  ‘She followed ’em, cryin’ pitiful, to the old boat on the Wall[.]’
  Category:English terms with quotations#PITIFUL

Translations

in a pitiful manner; pitifully; piteously; pathetically

Category:Entries with translation boxes#PITIFUL

German: mitleidig (de)Category:Terms with German translations#PITIFUL, mitleidsvollCategory:Terms with German translations#PITIFUL

Category:English adverbs suffixed with -ful#PITIFUL

Wikimore

pitiful

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adverb

Translations