piteous

American  

[pit-ee-uhs] / ˈpɪt i əs /

adjective

1. evoking or deserving pity; pathetic.

   piteous cries for help.

   Synonyms:

   sorrowful, wretched, sad, woeful, lamentable, moving, affecting

2. Archaic. compassionate.

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piteous British  

/ ˈpɪtɪəs /

adjective

1. exciting or deserving pity

2. archaic having or expressing pity

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Related Words

See pitiful.

Other Word Forms

• overpiteous adjective
• overpiteously adverb
• overpiteousness noun
• piteously adverb
• piteousness noun
• unpiteous adjective
• unpiteously adverb

Etymology

Origin of piteous

1250–1300; Middle English; replacing pitous < Old French < Medieval Latin pietōsus. See pity, -ous

Example Sentences

"The amount you get per stream is piteous, so it's more likely you're going to be in a flat-share with five other people in East London."

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2024

As I type this — alone in an upstairs room — a piteous sound is issuing from the floor below.

From Washington Post • Aug. 7, 2022

When Sarah, introducing herself to her class, mentions a brother who died, her reflex not to seem piteous makes her explanation weirdly funny: “He was just like a baby, so it wasn’t sad or anything.”

From New York Times • Jun. 7, 2022

The president’s wartime speeches are notable for their displays of raw emotion, but at the same time, he is capable of evoking piteous scenes without asking for pity.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2022

The girls stared at him with piteous open mouths.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes