pitiful

pit·i·ful  (pt-fl)

adj.

1. Inspiring or deserving pity.

2. Arousing contemptuous pity, as through ineptitude or inadequacy. See Synonyms at pathetic.

3. Archaic Filled with pity or compassion.

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piti·ful·ly adv.

piti·ful·ness n.

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pitiful [ˈpɪtɪfʊl]

adj

1. arousing or deserving pity

2. arousing or deserving contempt

3. Archaic full of pity or compassion

pitifully  adv

pitifulness  n

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piteous, pitiable, pitiful - Piteous is generally not used when speaking of people, pitiable means "able to be pitied," and pitiful most often means "insignificant; below contempt."

See also related terms for insignificant.

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	pitiful - inspiring mixed contempt and pity; "their efforts were pathetic"; "pitiable lack of character"; "pitiful exhibition of cowardice" pitiable, pathetic contemptible - deserving of contempt or scorn
	2.	pitiful - bad; unfortunate; "my finances were in a deplorable state"; "a lamentable decision"; "her clothes were in sad shape"; "a sorry state of affairs" deplorable, lamentable, distressing, sorry, sad bad - having undesirable or negative qualities; "a bad report card"; "his sloppy appearance made a bad impression"; "a bad little boy"; "clothes in bad shape"; "a bad cut"; "bad luck"; "the news was very bad"; "the reviews were bad"; "the pay is bad"; "it was a bad light for reading"; "the movie was a bad choice"
	3.	pitiful - deserving or inciting pity; "a hapless victim"; "miserable victims of war"; "the shabby room struck her as extraordinarily pathetic"- Galsworthy; "piteous appeals for help"; "pitiable homeless children"; "a pitiful fate"; "Oh, you poor thing"; "his poor distorted limbs"; "a wretched life" misfortunate, pathetic, piteous, hapless, poor, miserable, pitiable, wretched unfortunate - not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune; "an unfortunate turn of events"; "an unfortunate decision"; "unfortunate investments"; "an unfortunate night for all concerned"

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pitiful

adjective

1. pathetic, distressing, miserable, harrowing, heartbreaking, grievous, sad, woeful, deplorable, lamentable, heart-rending, gut-wrenching, wretched, pitiable, piteous It was the most pitiful sight I had ever seen.
pathetic happy, funny, cheering, amusing, cheerful, merry, heartening, laughable, comical

2. inadequate, mean, low, miserable, dismal, beggarly, shabby, insignificant, paltry, despicable, measly, contemptible Many of them work as farm labourers for pitiful wages.
inadequate significant, valuable, adequate

3. worthless, base, sorry, vile, abject, scurvy a pitiful performance
worthless significant, admirable, honourable, laudable, praiseworthy

Translations

pitiful [ˈpɪtɪfʊl] ADJ

1. (= moving to pity) [sight] → lastimoso, penoso; [cry] → lastimero

2. (= contemptible) [efforts] → lamentable; [sum, amount] → irrisorio

3. (= dreadful) → pésimo, lamentable
it was a pitiful performance → fue una actuación pésima or lamentable

pitiful [ˈpɪtif^ʊl] adj

(= touching) [sight, appearance] → pitoyable

(= meagre) [choice] → maigre; [wage] → pitoyable

(= contemptible) [lack, excuse, attempt] → pitoyable

pitiful

adj

(= moving to pity) sight, story → mitleiderregend; person → bemitleidenswert, bedauernswert; cry, whimper → jämmerlich; to be in a pitiful state → in einem erbärmlichen Zustand sein

(= poor, wretched) → erbärmlich, jämmerlich, kläglich; what a pitiful little wretch you are → was bist du doch für ein erbärmlicher kleiner Schuft

pitiful [ˈpɪtɪfʊl] adj

a. (sight, story) → pietoso/a; (person) → che fa pietà or compassione

b. (pej) (attempt) → pietoso/a; (cowardice) → deplorevole; (sum) → miserabile