PITEOUS Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

piteous

adjective

ˈpi-tē-əs

Definition of piteous

as in pitiful

deserving of one's pity a piteous beggar huddled in the doorway of an abandoned building

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of piteous An old woman and an old man, innocent as lambs, clambering over rubble with their piteous backpacks and bundles. — David Bezmozgis, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025 Subjects set up as snakes in the grass are given piteous endings. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2025 The word integral seemed to me particularly poignant, piteous. — Joyce Carol Oates, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023 In roaring luxury markets from Manhattan to San Francisco over the past few years, buyers were a piteous bunch. — Katy McLaughlin, WSJ, 6 Mar. 2019

Recent Examples of Synonyms for piteous

Adjective

Completing the hat trick in pitiful style, Taking on the World was shot on a shoestring budget, helmed by the man behind Highlander III, and forced to rely on stock footage of real-life footballers.

— Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 26 June 2026
Given the national team’s pitiful demise at the Oval, with New Zealand completing victory on the fifth morning, Ben Stokes’ revival in absentia feels like the only consolation from a miserable week.

— Hector Vickers, New York Times, 21 June 2026

Definition of pitiful

Adjective

Dozens of companies have withdrawn over the past decades due to poor profits, an uncertain business outlook and concerns about harm to their reputations from making arms, especially lethal weapons.

— Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026
Along the way, the audience can expect tons of humiliation, terrible second prizes, and the guarantee that Robertson will turn at least one poor soul's wrong turn into several minutes of unhinged public destruction.

— Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of poor

Adjective

One of college football’s ugliest offseasons of wretched headlines is nearly over.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Aug. 2026
But this was ultimately a positive season for United, after their wretched end to the previous season under Ralf Rangnick.

— Michael Cox, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of wretched

Browse Nearby Words

pitchy

piteous

pitfall

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“Piteous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piteous. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of piteous

adjective

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