Pitiful vs Pathetic - What's the difference?
pitiful | pathetic |
Feeling pity; merciful.
* 1851 , Herman Melville, Moby-Dick :
So appalling or sad that one feels or should feel sorry for it; eliciting pity.
Very small (of an amount or number).
Arousing pity, sympathy, or compassion.
Arousing scornful pity or contempt, often due to miserable inadequacy.
* {{quote-video, year=2005, title=
, passage=Well you'd better think of something because middle-aged tramps aren't cute, they're pathetic .}}
(obsolete) Expressing or showing anger; passionate.
Pathetic is a synonym of pitiful.
As adjectives the difference between pitiful and pathetic
is that pitiful is feeling pity; merciful while pathetic is arousing pity, sympathy, or compassion.pitiful
English
Alternative forms
* pitifull (archaic)Adjective
(pitifuller)- Straightway, he now goes on to make a full confession; whereupon the mariners became more and more appalled, but still are pitiful .
- Scotland has a pitiful climate.
- A pitiful number of students bothered to turn up.
Synonyms
* See alsopathetic
English
Alternative forms
* pathetick (archaic) * patheticke (obsolete) * pathetique (obsolete)Adjective
(en adjective)- The old man’s pathetic pleas for forgiveness stirred the young man’s heart.
- You can't even run two miles? That’s pathetic .
- You're almost 26 years old and you still can't hold a real job? That's pathetic .