The difference between Pathetic and Pitiful

When used as adjectives, pathetic means arousing pity, sympathy, or compassion, whereas pitiful means feeling pity.

check bellow for the other definitions of Pathetic and Pitiful

  1. Pathetic as an adjective:

    Arousing pity, sympathy, or compassion.

    Examples:

    "The child’s pathetic pleas for forgiveness stirred the young man’s heart."

  2. Pathetic as an adjective:

    Arousing scornful pity or contempt, often due to miserable inadequacy.

    Examples:

    "You can't even run two miles? That’s pathetic."

    "You're almost 26 years old and you still can't hold a real job? That's pathetic."

  3. Pathetic as an adjective (obsolete):

    Expressing or showing anger; passionate.

  4. Pathetic as an adjective (anatomy):

    Trochlear.

  1. Pitiful as an adjective (now, _, rare):

    Feeling pity; merciful.

  2. Pitiful as an adjective:

    So appalling or sad that one feels or should feel sorry for it; eliciting pity.

    Examples:

    "synonyms Thesaurus:lamentable"

    "Scotland has a pitiful climate."

  3. Pitiful as an adjective:

    Of an amount or number: very small.

    Examples:

    "A pitiful number of students bothered to turn up."

Compare words:

Compare with synonyms and related words: