Definitions for pathetic
pəˈθɛt ɪkpa·thet·ic

Princeton's WordNet(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. hapless, miserable, misfortunate, pathetic, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, poor, wretchedadjective

   deserving or inciting pity

   "a hapless victim"; "miserable victims of war"; "the shabby room struck her as extraordinarily pathetic"- Galsworthy; "piteous appeals for help"; "pitiable homeless children"; "a pitiful fate"; "Oh, you poor thing"; "his poor distorted limbs"; "a wretched life"

2. pathetic, pitiable, pitifuladjective

   inspiring mixed contempt and pity

   "their efforts were pathetic"; "pitiable lack of character"; "pitiful exhibition of cowardice"

3. pathetic, ridiculous, sillyadjective

   inspiring scornful pity

   "how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be especially if he is getting on in years"- Dashiell Hammett

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. patheticadjective

   Arousing pity, sympathy, or compassion.

   The old man's pathetic pleas for forgiveness stirred the young man's heart.

   Etymology: From patheticus, from παθητικός, from παθητός, from παθείν.

2. patheticadjective

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

   Etymology: From patheticus, from παθητικός, from παθητός, from παθείν.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Patheticadjective

   expressing or showing anger; passionate

   Etymology: [L. patheticus, Gr. paqhtiko`s, fr. paqei^n, pa`schein, to suffer: cf. F. pathtique. See Pathos.]

2. Patheticadjective

   affecting or moving the tender emotions, esp. pity or grief; full of pathos; as, a pathetic song or story

   Etymology: [L. patheticus, Gr. paqhtiko`s, fr. paqei^n, pa`schein, to suffer: cf. F. pathtique. See Pathos.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Pathetic

   -al, pa-thet′ik, -al, adj. showing passion: affecting the tender emotions: causing pity, grief, or sorrow: touching: (anat.) trochlear.—adj. Pathemat′ic, pertaining to emotion.—adv. Pathet′ically.—ns. Pathet′icalness; Path′etism, animal magnetism; Path′etist, one who practises this.—The pathetic, the style or manner fitted to excite emotion. [Gr. pathētikos, subject to suffering.]

How to pronounce pathetic?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say pathetic in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of pathetic in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of pathetic in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of pathetic in a Sentence

1. President Dudley Brownsaid:

   It’s a nonsense 'feel good’ rule that only burdens good people but does nothing to stop violent criminals and gangsters from obtaining guns, this is just one more pathetic gun control ploy from Joe Biden as he bows down to the Gun Control Lobby and their unlawful schemes to destroy the Second Amendment.

2. Gerald Graham:

   The government's response has been really pathetic. They were not there. Why did they take so long to act.

3. Jerry Garcia:

   Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.

4. John Kelly:

   This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administration's many successes.

5. Donald Trump:

   I am not surprised the dishonest, irrelevant and totally failing Club for Growth has resorted to attacking the definitive front runner, especially after I refused to contribute to their pathetic group. We will be releasing my current tax proposal, which is a major decrease in taxes, in the next week and will continue to expose the two faced hypocrisy of the Club for Growth and the problems groups like this perpetuate within a broken Washington, D.C..

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