Piteous
adj ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Provoking pity, compassion, or sympathy.
"[…] with his strong arms He fastened on my neck, and bellowed out As he’d burst heaven; threw him on my father; Told the most piteous tale of Lear and him That ever ear receiv’d;"
- 2 Showing devotion to God. obsolete
"For the Lord kan delyuere piteuouse men fro temptacioun, and kepe wickid men in to the dai of dom to be turmentid;"
- 3 Showing compassion. obsolete
"Thine eye begins to speak; set thy tongue there; Or in thy piteous heart plant thou thine ear; That hearing how our plaints and prayers do pierce, Pity may move thee ‘pardon’ to rehearse."
- 4 Of little importance or value. obsolete
"[…] calling to minde with heed Part of our Sentence, that thy Seed shall bruise The Serpents head; piteous amends, unless Be meant, whom I conjecture, our grand Foe Satan,"
- 1 deserving or inciting pity wordnet
Example
More examples"He looked piteous, like a drowned mouse."
Etymology
From Middle English pitous, from Old French piteus, pitus.
More for "piteous"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.