The difference between Pitiful and Sad

When used as adjectives, pitiful means feeling pity, whereas sad means feeling sorrow.

check bellow for the other definitions of Pitiful and Sad

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

Feeling pity; merciful.
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."
Pitiful as an adjective:

Of an amount or number: very small.

Examples:

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

Sad as an adjective:

Emotionally negative. Feeling sorrow; sorrowful, mournful. Appearing sorrowful. Causing sorrow; lamentable. Poor in quality, bad; shameful, deplorable; later, regrettable, poor. Of colours: dark, deep; later, sombre, dull.

Examples:

"She gets sad when he's away."

"The puppy had a sad little face."

"It's a sad fact that most rapes go unreported."

"That's the saddest-looking pickup truck I've ever seen."
Sad as an adjective (obsolete):

Sated, having had one's fill; satisfied, weary.
Sad as an adjective (obsolete):

Steadfast, valiant.
Sad as an adjective (obsolete):

Dignified, serious, grave.
Sad as an adjective (obsolete):

Naughty; troublesome; wicked.
Sad as an adjective (slang):

Unfashionable; socially inadequate or undesirable.

Examples:

"I can't believe you use drugs; you're so sad!"
Sad as an adjective (dialect):

Soggy (to refer to pastries).
Sad as an adjective (obsolete):

Heavy; weighty; ponderous; close; hard.

Examples:

"sad bread"