as in pitiful
deserving of one's pity
a piteous beggar huddled in the doorway of an abandoned building
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Recent Examples of piteous
An old woman and an old man, innocent as lambs, clambering over rubble with their piteous backpacks and bundles.
—
David Bezmozgis,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2025
Subjects set up as snakes in the grass are given piteous endings.
—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
20 Feb. 2025
The word integral seemed to me particularly poignant, piteous.
—
Joyce Carol Oates,
Harper's Magazine,
10 July 2023
Later, Ivy interrogates Felix about having strayed dangerously from the straight-and-narrow, a confrontation that is agonizing to watch, as Mr. Torres’s performance gains in both piteous despair and angry ferocity.
—
Charles Isherwood,
WSJ,
17 Nov. 2022
Because the Grammys telecast draws generations of viewers, and because Grammy voters are drawn from a wide pool that skews older, what emerges on the show, and in the awards themselves, is a kind of piteous compromise that holds real innovation at bay.
—
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2022
David Bezmozgis,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2025
Subjects set up as snakes in the grass are given piteous endings.
—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
20 Feb. 2025
The word integral seemed to me particularly poignant, piteous.
—
Joyce Carol Oates,
Harper's Magazine,
10 July 2023
Later, Ivy interrogates Felix about having strayed dangerously from the straight-and-narrow, a confrontation that is agonizing to watch, as Mr. Torres’s performance gains in both piteous despair and angry ferocity.
—
Charles Isherwood,
WSJ,
17 Nov. 2022
Because the Grammys telecast draws generations of viewers, and because Grammy voters are drawn from a wide pool that skews older, what emerges on the show, and in the awards themselves, is a kind of piteous compromise that holds real innovation at bay.
—
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piteous
Adjective
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Completing the hat trick in pitiful style, Taking on the World was shot on a shoestring budget, helmed by the man behind Highlander III, and forced to rely on stock footage of real-life footballers.
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Given the national team’s pitiful demise at the Oval, with New Zealand completing victory on the fifth morning, Ben Stokes’ revival in absentia feels like the only consolation from a miserable week.
Adjective
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Instagram Plus is social media’s newest low—a company preying on our most pathetic impulses, for the price of a small iced coffee.
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After these first three majors — and after a pathetic showing this week at Shinnecock — there's no reason to bet against it.
Adjective
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Because of that, these hands suffer from high production costs, poor durability against impacts, short operational lifespans, and there are no existing solutions that engineers can readily draw upon, Wang added.
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The extreme heat can also affect people who are physically ill, especially those with heart disease or high blood pressure, or who take certain medications, such as for depression, insomnia, or poor circulation.
Adjective
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Sixteen children from the same family who were rescued from a dilapidated home in rural Ohio were living in wretched conditions with human waste all around, confined to just one room over much of the past four years, authorities said.
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The Giants, who went on to lose yesterday, are now 31-46, and the vibes are wretched.
Adjective
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Remarkably, La Roja have failed to win a knockout round match in their last three World Cups, but expect Lamine Yamal and company to end that miserable run today.
-
But the American job market has chugged along, continuing to rebound from a miserable 2025.
Cite this Entry
“Piteous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piteous. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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