pathetic
adjective /pəˈθetɪk/
/pəˈθetɪk/
- making you feel sad synonym pitiful
- a pathetic and lonely old man
- The starving children were a pathetic sight.
Extra Examples- There was something a little pathetic about her.
- She thought he looked a pathetic figure of a man.
- (informal, disapproving) weak and not successful synonym feeble
- a pathetic excuse
- She made a pathetic attempt to smile.
- I know it sounds pathetic, but I can’t ride a bike.
- You're pathetic!
Extra ExamplesTopics Difficulty and failurec2- The whole thing is absolutely pathetic.
- What a pathetic little wimp you are, Graham!
Word Originlate 16th cent. (in the sense ‘affecting the emotions’): via late Latin from Greek pathētikos ‘sensitive’, based on pathos ‘suffering’.