- 1making you feel sympathy or sadness synonym pitiful a pathetic and lonely old man The starving children were a pathetic sight.
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- 2(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!
NAmE//pəˈθɛt̮ɪkli//
adverb He cried pathetically. a pathetically shy womanSee pathetic in the Oxford Advanced Learner's DictionaryCheck pronunciation: pathetic