Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Pitiable |
PitiableAdjective1. Inspiring mixed contempt and pity; "their efforts were pathetic"; "pitiable lack of character"; "pitiful exhibition of cowardice". 2. 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"; "couldn't rescue the poor fellow"; "his poor distorted limbs"; "a wretched life". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "pitiable" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references) |
Etymology: Pitiable \Pit"i*a*ble\, adjective. [Compare to Old French pitiable, French pitoyable.]. (references) |
Synonyms: PitiableSynonyms: hapless (adj), miserable (adj), misfortunate (adj), pathetic (adj), piteous (adj), pitiful (adj), poor (adj), wretched (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Contempt | Contemptible, despicable; pitiable; pitiful; (unimportant); despised;Verb: downtrodden; unenvied. |
Inexpedience | Vile, base, villainous; mean; (paltry); injured; deteriorated; unsatisfactory, exceptionable indifferent; below par; (imperfect); illcontrived, ill-conditioned; wretched, sad, grievous, deplorable, lamentable; pitiful, pitiable, woeful; (painful). |
Pain | Distressing; afflicting, afflictive; joyless, cheerless, comfortless; dismal, disheartening; depressing, depressive; dreary, melancholy, grievous, piteous; woeful, rueful, mournful, deplorable, pitiable, lamentable; sad, affecting, touching, pathetic. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Pitiable |
| English words defined with "pitiable": A forlorn hope ♦ Commiserable, Compassionable ♦ desolate ♦ forlorn ♦ godforsaken ♦ lorn. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "pitiable": Infant of Lubeck. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "pitiable": Compassionable. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | Girl of a Pitiable Fate (1959) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Emma | Austen, Jane | In that case, nothing could be more pitiable or more honourable than the sacrifices she had resolved on. |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | The man who was in such a hurry was he whom we have seen struggling in such pitiable convulsions |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Pitiable" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Pitiable" is used about 26 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 100% | 26 | 68,323 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
pitiable | 3 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "pitiable"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Arabic | حقير (abject, base, beggarly, blackguardly, cheap, despicable, dingy, dirty, frowzy, grubby, ignoble, inferior, insignificant, lousy, low, low down, lowly, mean, menial, niggling, paltry, pettifogger, petty, pip squeak, pitiful, poor, popinjay, rotten, scabby, scaly, scoundrelly, scruffy, scummy, scurvy, servile, shabby, shoddy, slavish, slim, slushy, small minded, snide, sod, squalid, swine, tacky, trifling, ungracious, unworthy, varmint, vile, villainous, worthless, wretched), تافه (banal, commonplace, contemptible, crummy, fade, fiddling, flat, foolish, footling, fractional, frivolous, frothy, good for nothing, inane, inconsiderable, insignificant, junk, light, lilliputian, little, lowbrow, measly, minute, naught, negligible, niggling, nonsensical, nugatory, null, paltry, pedestrian, petty, piddling, pimping, piteous, platitudinous, pointless, puny, ridiculous, run of the mill, silly, slight, slim, small time, smelly, stupid, trifle, trifling, trite, trivial, trumpery, two a penny, two bit, twopenny-halfpenny, unimportant, unsavory, unsavoury, unworthy, vain, valueless, vapid, vile, worthless), جدير الشفقة, رثى له (pitiful, pity, puny, rueful, ruefully, saddening, sorry, woeful). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | клет (miserable, poor, woeful), жалък (abject, lamentable, mangy, miserable, piteous, pitiful, pokey, poor, sad, scabbed, scabby, scaly, scrubby, sorrowful, sorry, squalid, woeful), жалостен (plangent), достоен за съжаление (rueful). (various references) | |
Czech | politováníhodný (deplorable, lamentable, regrettable, unhappy), ubohý (crappy, deplorable, dingy, dismal, down in the mouth, grotty, miserable, paltry, poor, sleazy, wretched), žalostný (deplorable, lamentable, measly, pathetic, piteous, plaintive, regretful, rueful, woeful, woesome, wretched). (various references) | |
Dutch | verdrietelýk (bleak, deplorable, dismal, dreary, ghastly, grisly, horrible, nasty, sad), spýtig (deplorable, regrettable, sad), grievend (abusive, deplorable, nasty, sad), bedroevend (deplorable, dismal, miserable, sad). (various references) | |
Esperanto | ĉagrena (deplorable, sad). (various references) | |
Farsi | قابل ترحم , رقت انگیز (Deplorable, Pathetic, Piteous, Pitiful), رقت بار (Piteous). (various references) | |
Finnish | surkuteltava (deplorable, lamentable, pitiful, regrettable), säälittävä (miserable, piteous, pitiful, to be pitied, wretched), kurja (miserable, poor, wretched). (various references) | |
French | pitoyable (piteous, pitiful), piètre, misérable (piteous, pitiful), ladre. (various references) | |
German | bedauernswert (deplorable, pitiful, pitifully, regrettable), kläglich (deplorable, deplorably, miserable, miserably, mournful, mournfully, pathetic, piteous, piteously, pitiably, pitiful, pitifully, puny, rueful, wretched). (various references) | |
Greek | ελεεινόσ (abject, beggarly, deplorable, disgraceful, forlorn, haggard, miserable, piteous, scrub, scrubby, seedy, sorry, wretched), οικτρόσ (pathetic, pathetical, piteous, pitiful). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מעורר רחמים (piteous, pitiful). (various references) | |
Hungarian | szánalmas (deplorable, forlorn, lamentable, miserable, miserly, pathetic, piteous, sad, woeful, woesome), szánalomra méltó (deplorable, lamentable, piteous, pitiful, regretful, woeful), megvetendő (contemptible, despicable, pitiful). (various references) | |
Indonesian | menyedihkan (forlorn, grievous, sadden, tragic). (various references) | |
Italian | pietoso (compassionate, depressingly, merciful, piteous, pitiful, sorry, wretched), compassionevole (compassionate). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 情無い (deplorable, miserable, shameful), 情ない (deplorable, miserable, shameful), 情け無い (deplorable, miserable, shameful), 情けない (deplorable, miserable, shameful), 情けない (deplorable, miserable, shameful), 憫然 , 愍然 , 可"相 (pathetic, poor), 可"想 (pathetic, poor). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | なさけない (deplorable, miserable, shameful), び"ぜ", かわいそう (pathetic, poor). (various references) | |
Manx | treih (abject, deplorable, doughy, drawn, feeble, forlorn, fragile, haggard, miserable, pale, pale-faced, pallid, pasty, pathetic, piteous, pitiful, regrettable, rueful, sallow, seedy, sickly, wan, wretched, wretched of thing). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | itiablepay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | mesquinho (cheeseparing, close-fisted, costive, despicable, illiberal, little, logy, mangy, mean, mingy, miserly, niggling, peddling, penurious, pimping, scaly, scrubby, scurvy, small, sordid, stingy, unhandsome), lamentável (lamentable, melancholy, piteous, pitiful, regretful, regrettable, sad, sorrowful, tearful, unfortunate, wretched), insignificante (bald, fiddle-faddle, frivolous, inconsiderable, inferior, insignificant, little, mean, negligible, one-horse, paltry, petty, picayune, piddling, pimping, pony, poor, potty, puny, scrubby, small, trifling, trivial, unimportant, wispy), desprezível (abject, beggarly, caitiff, contemptible, despicable, lily-livered, little, mean, negligible, paltry, peddling, picayune, reptile, scurvy, trashy, unworthy, worthless), deplorável (chapfallen, deplorable, pitiful, regretful, regrettable, rueful, sad). (various references) | |
Romanian | vrednic de milã (pathetic, piteous), vrednic de dispreţ (contemptible, despicable, poor, reprehensible), sãrac (barren, beggarly, destitute, empty, hard up, impecunious, in straitened circumstances, lean, low-lived, meager, meagre, mean, needful, needy, pauper, peeled, penniless, penurious, piteous, pitiful, poor, poor man, poverty stricken, scanty, small, sterile, stingy, void), mizerabil (abject, despicable, dirty, godforsaken, grovelling, miserable, miserably, unlucky, villainous, wretch, wretched), jalnic (beggarly, deplorable, distressing, doleful, forlorn, heart rending, lamentable, lamentably, lamenting, mangy, mean, miserable, miserably, mournful, pathetic, pathetically, piteous, plaintive, rueful, ruefully, sad, sorrowful, sorry, squalid, woeful, wretched). (various references) | |
Russian | несчастный (desolate, disconsolate, hapless, hard, infelicitous, lack-all, lorn, miserable, poor, sorry, star-crossed, unblessed, unfortunate, unhappy, woeful, wretch, wretched), жалкий (abject, forlorn, paltry, pathetic, pimping, piteous, pitiful, poor, scrubby, woeful, wretched). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | za žaljenje (piteous, regrettable), jadan (deplorable, jejune, lamentable, miserable, pelting, piteous, poor, wretched), bedan (abject, beggarly, crummy, distressful, lamentable, mangy, miserable, needy, pelting, poor, rubbishy, squalid, wretched). (various references) | |
Spanish | lastimoso (deplorable, piteous, pitiful, sorry). (various references) | |
Swedish | ynklig (measly, paltry, pathetic, piteous, pitiful, rueful, scrubby, sorry), ömklig (dastardly, despicable, miserable, piteous, pitiful, pityful). (various references) | |
Turkish | zavallı (nebbish, piteous, pitiful, poor, poor thing, poverty stricken, sorry, wretched), değersiz (cheap, despicable, footling, inferior, insignificant, jerkwater, measly, milk and water, no-account, nonvalent, non-valent, nugatory, of no worth, paltry, punk, rubbishy, shoddy, tinpot, trashy, trivial, trumpery, two bit, valueless, vile, worthless), acınacak halde (deplorable, pathetically, piteous, pitiful, sorry, wretched), acınacak (deplorable, lamentable, pathetic, regrettable, rueful, woeful). (various references) | |
Turkmen | gцzgyny (pathetic). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | мізерний (bare, beggarly, feeble, insignificant, miserable, naught, nominal, outside, paltry, pokey, poky), жалюгідний (abject, beggarly, caitiff, contemptible, deplorable, forlorn, impoverished, lamentable, mean, miserable, parsimonious, piteous, pitiful, poor, queachy, snide, sorry, tatty, woeful, woesome, wretched). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | đáng thương xót đáng khinh, đáng thương hại (piteous), đáng thương (lamentable). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | miserabiles, miserabili, miserabiliores, miserabilis. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "pitiable": pitiableness, pitiablenesses. (additional references) | |
| |
"Pitiable" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: patable, picturable, piliable, Pitcaple, titrable. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "pitiable" (pronounced pi"tēubul) |
| 5 | -ē u b u l | amiable, enviable, irremediable, malleable, permeable, variable. |
| 4 | -u b u l | incurable, indefatigable, indefensible, indefinable, indelible, indescribable, indestructible, indispensable, indisputable, indistinguishable, indivisible, indomitable, inedible, ineffable, ineligible, inequitable, inescapable, inevitable, inexcusable, inexhaustible, inexorable, inexplicable, infallible, infeasible, inflammable, inflatable, acceptable, accessible, abominable, accountable, achievable, actionable, adaptable, addressable, adjustable, admirable, admissible, adoptable, adorable, advisable, affable, affordable, agreeable, allowable, amenable, amendable, amicable, analyzable, answerable, appealable, applicable, appreciable, approachable, approvable, arable, arguable, attainable, attributable, audible, available, avoidable, bankable, bearable, believable, billable, biodegradable, breakable, buildable, burnable, callable, cannibal, capable, changeable, chargeable, charitable, classifiable, collapsible, collectible, Combinable, comfortable, commendable, communicable, comparable, compatible, compensable, comprehensible, conceivable, confirmable, considerable, constable, consumable, contemptible, contestable, controllable, convertible, copyrightable, countable, credible, creditable, crucible, culpable, curable, debatable, deductible, defensible, definable, degradable, delectable, deliverable, demonstrable, dependable, deplorable, deployable, depreciable, describable, desirable, despicable, detachable, detectable, determinable, developable, digestible, disagreeable, discernible, discountable, discoverable, dishonorable, dispensable, disposable, disreputable, distinguishable, divisible, doable, drinkable, drivable, durable, eatable, edible, electable, eligible, Embraceable, employable, enforceable, enjoyable, equable, equitable, erasable, erodible, estimable, exchangeable, excitable, excludable, excusable, execrable, exercisable, expandable, expendable, explainable, exportable, extendable, extendible, fallible, fashionable, fathomable, favorable, feasible, fissionable, fixable, flammable, flexible, forcible, foreseeable, forfeitable, forgettable, forgivable, formidable, fungible, fusible, gullible, habitable, harvestable, heritable, hon, honorable, horrible, hospitable, identifiable, illegible, imaginable, imitable, immiscible, immovable, immutable, impassable, impeachable, impeccable, impenetrable, imperceptible, impermissible, implacable, implantable, implausible, imponderable, impossible, impracticable, impregnable, impressionable, improbable, inaccessible, inadmissible, inadvisable, inalienable, inapplicable, inaudible, incalculable, incapable, incomparable, incompatible, incomprehensible, incompressible, inconceivable, incontrovertible, incorrigible, incredible, soluble, solvable, spendable, submersible, suggestible, suitable, supportable, survivable, susceptible, sustainable, syllable, talkable, tangible, taxable, teachable, tenable, terrible, inflexible, inheritable, inhospitable, inimitable, injectable, innumerable, inoperable, insatiable, inscrutable, inseparable, insoluble, insufferable, insupportable, insurmountable, intangible, intelligible, interchangeable, interminable, interruptible, intolerable, intractable, invaluable, investable, invincible, inviolable, invisible, invulnerable, irascible, irreconcilable, irrefutable, irreparable, irreplaceable, irrepressible, irresistible, irresponsible, irreversible, irrevocable, irritable, issuable, justifiable, knowledgeable, lamentable, laudable, laughable, leasable, legible, liable, likable, likeable, livable, lovable, manageable, mandible, maneuverable, marketable, measurable, memorable, microwavable, miscible, miserable, moldable, movable, navigable, negligible, negotiable, noncallable, nonconvertible, nondeductible, nondurable, nonrefundable, nonrenewable, nontaxable, nontransferable, notable, noticeable, objectionable, observable, obtainable, operable, ostensible, palatable, palpable, parable, passable, patentable, payable, peaceable, perceptible, perishable, permissible, personable, persuadable, plausible, pleasurable, pliable, portable, possible, potable, practicable, predictable, preferable, presentable, preventable, printable, probable, profitable, programmable, prosecutable, provable, punishable, questionable, quotable, reachable, readable, realizable, reasonable, receivable, rechargeable, recognizable, recordable, recoverable, recyclable, redeemable, redoubtable, reducible, refundable, regrettable, reliable, remarkable, removable, renewable, rentable, repairable, repayable, repeatable, replaceable, reportable, reprehensible, reputable, resealable, resettable, respectable, responsible, retractable, returnable, reusable, reversible, revocable, ridable, salable, saleable, salvageable, seasonable, sensible, serviceable, sizable, sizeable, sociable, tolerable, traceable, tractable, tradable, tradeable, trainable, transferable, transferrable, transmittable, transportable, treatable, tunable, typeable, unacceptable, unaccountable, unaffordable, unalienable, unalterable, unanswerable, unassailable, unattainable, unavailable, unavoidable, unbearable, unbeatable, unbelievable, unbuildable, uncollectible, uncomfortable, unconscionable, uncontrollable, undeniable, understandable, undesirable, undetectable, unelectable, unemployable, unenforceable, unenviable, unexplainable, unfashionable, unfathomable, unfavorable, unfeasible, unflappable, unforeseeable, unforgettable, unforgivable, ungovernable, unimaginable, unimpeachable, uninhabitable, uninsurable, unintelligible, unjustifiable, unknowable, unlivable, unmanageable, unmentionable, unmistakable, unobtainable, unpalatable, unpredictable, unprintable, unprofitable, unquestionable, unreachable, unreadable, unreasonable, unrecognizable, unreliable, unremarkable, unsalable, unshakable, unsinkable, unsolvable, unspeakable, unstoppable, unsuitable, unsupportable, unsustainable, untenable, unthinkable, untouchable, untraceable, unusable, unverifiable, unwinnable, unworkable, usable, vegetable, venerable, verifiable, veritable, viable, visible, voluble, vulnerable, washable, wearable, winnable, workable. |
| 3 | -b u l | able, amble, assemble, babble, Babel, bauble, bible, bramble, bubble, Bumble, cable, cobble, coble, corbel, crumble, cymbal, dabble, Dibble, disable, disassemble, dissemble, double, Drabble, dribble, enable, enfeeble, ennoble, ensemble, fable, feeble, foible, fumble, gable, gamble, Garble, global, gobble, Gribble, grumble, hardscrabble, herbal, hobble, humble, ignoble, immeasurable, immobile, squabble, Stabile, stable, stubble, stumble, symbol, table, intertribal, jumble, kibble, label, libel, marble, mislabel, mobile, mumble, nibble, nimble, noble, nonverbal, pebble, preamble, psychobabble, quibble, rabble, ramble, reassemble, rebel, redouble, relabel, resemble, Roble, rouble, roundtable, rubble, Ruble, rumble, sable, Scrabble, scramble, scribble, shamble, Sibyl, thimble, timetable, treble, tremble, tribal, trouble, tubal, tumble, turntable, umbel, unable, unscramble, unserviceable, unstable, valuable, verbal, wamble, wobble. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-e-i-i-l-p-t" | |
-2 letters: albeit, albite, aplite, bailie, tibiae, tibial. | |
-3 letters: alibi, biali, blate, bleat, blite, leapt, lepta, litai, palet, petal, pibal, pieta, pilea, pilei, plait, plate, pleat, table, telia, tepal, tibia. | |
-4 letters: abet, able, alit, bail, bait, bale, bate, beat, belt, beta, bile, bite, blae, blat, blet, blip, ilea, ilia, late, lati, leap, lept, lipa, lipe. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-b-e-i-i-l-p-t" | |
+2 letters: bipedality, epiblastic, impartible. | |
+3 letters: amphibolite, bipartitely, bipinnately, openability, operability, prelibation. | |
+4 letters: amphibolites, bipedalities, bipolarities, capabilities, drapeability, incompatible, indisputable, inhospitable, permeability, pitiableness, plebiscitary, pliabilities, potabilities, precipitable, pregnability, prelibations, reputability, separability. | |
+5 letters: acceptability, alphabetizing, anticipatable, appealability, bibliotherapy, biocompatible, culpabilities, dependability, drapabilities, employability, expandability, expansibility, expendability, exportability, graphitizable, impeccability, impracticable, incompatibles, openabilities, operabilities, packabilities, palpabilities, partibilities, patentability, penetrability, perdurability, perishability, placabilities, playabilities, portabilities, preferability, probabilities, repairability, repeatability, replicability, republication, spreadability, subspecialist. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Quotations: Fiction 6. Usage Frequency 7. Expressions: Internet 8. Translations: Modern | 9. Translations: Ancient 10. Derivations 11. Rhymes 12. Anagrams | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
