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[ adjective ] inspiring mixed contempt and pity
Examples "their efforts were pathetic" "pitiable lack of character" "pitiful exhibition of cowardice" Used in print (Philip Reaves, "Who Rules the Marriage Bed?"...)The wife 's attempt at control , these psychologists contend , is sometimes merely a pathetic effort to compel her husband to pay as much attention to her as he does to his job . Related terms |
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[ adjective ] deserving or inciting pity
Examples "a hapless victim" "miserable victims of war" "piteous appeals for help" "pitiable homeless children" "a pitiful fate" "couldn't rescue the poor fellow" "his poor distorted limbs" "a wretched life" Used in print (Brand Blanshard, "The Emotive Theory," Robert...)The pathetic evidence is no_longer before us ; and we are now so fatigued in body and mind that feeling is , as_we_say , quite dead . Related terms |
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[ adjective ] inspiring scornful pity
Synonyms Examples "how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be especially if he is getting on in years"- Dashiell Hammett Related terms |
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