pitiful

About 1.66 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. adjective So appalling or sad that one feels or should feel sorry for it; eliciting pity.

   Scotland has a pitiful climate.

2. adjective Eliciting contempt.
3. adjective Of an amount or number: very small.

   A pitiful number of students bothered to turn up.

4. adjective Feeling pity; merciful.
5. adverb In a pitiful manner; pitifully; piteously; pathetically.

Similar words

pitiable pathetic piteous wretched miserable lamentable deplorable sad contemptible misfortunate

Often followed by

and to sight little condition state in story thing

Word family

pitifuller pitifullest pitifully pitifulness pitifulnesses