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"
Used in a Sentence
pathetic
How to use pathetic in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for pathetic.
Editorial note
And a stubby service is a pretty pathetic service.
Examples11
Definitions3
Parts of speech1
Quick take
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"
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of pathetic gathered in one view.
inspiring mixed contempt and pity; "their efforts were pathetic"; "pitiable lack of character"; "pitiful exhibition of cowardice"
inspiring scornful pity; "how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be especially if he is getting on in years"- Dashiell Hammett
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for pathetic.
adjective
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"
See also: hapless, miserable, misfortunate, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, poor, wretched
adjective
inspiring mixed contempt and pity; "their efforts were pathetic"; "pitiable lack of character"; "pitiful exhibition of cowardice"
adjective
inspiring scornful pity; "how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be especially if he is getting on in years"- Dashiell Hammett
See also: ridiculous, silly
Example sentences
And a stubby service is a pretty pathetic service.
I didn't laugh but I found that incredibly arrogant and pathetic.
This idea of petitioning Oracle would be comical were it not so pathetic.
Yes. I was all sympathetic with a poor famous author who made pathetic $12k on his bestseller until I hit the number of copies sold: 4000... Huh?
And despite the burning scars of previous disappointments, I pledge 20 quid like a sad, pathetic junkie whose rehab never quite took hold.
" headlines, this ordeal and their pathetic response will slip into the forgotten-ether of low-impact data leaks.
Shouting about the 'nanny state' and using bitcoin, and then turning around and looking for a nanny to help him out when he goes around it is pathetic.
Raganwald is a blowhard whose pathetic attempts to score karma reveal him as an insecure dweeb who cant get over being kicked around in grammar school.
Why is this pathetic excuse of "it's so powerful it's harmful" necessary?And before you take out your pitch forks, please, you aren't the only one who programs lisp.
Congress overwhelmingly balked at the idea of any broad assertion of such authority and, in the back and forth, the FCC came up with the toe-in-the water approach just adopted to the satisfaction of almost no one. Even this assertion of jurisdiction will certainly be challenged in the courts in cases that will take years to decide, leaving this whole issue in a pathetic state of uncertainty for all concerned.
I find myself increasingly annoyed by the tone of people who have discovered that the Great Secret of Life is having kids/getting up at 5AM/exercising for hours every day/eating nothing but meat and vegetables, and if you don't do that you're a pathetic specimen who will never amount to anything.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use pathetic in a sentence?
And a stubby service is a pretty pathetic service.
What does pathetic mean?
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"
What part of speech is pathetic?
pathetic is commonly used as adjective.