Question 1 · Quick check
pathetic
CEFRB2
/pəˈθɛtɪk/
adjective
Türkçe translations
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In plain English
- 01
adjective
Making people feel pity, or very weak and unsuccessful.
- 02
adjective
Extra detailArousing scorn or contempt, often due to miserable inadequacy.
Examples
The Japanese people, thinking only of running away in such times, are pathetic.
Tom thinks that eating at a restaurant by himself is pathetic.
At a glance
Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale
- Senses
- 4
- Parts of speech
- 1
- Citations
- 5
- Synonyms
- 5
Deep Dive
adjective
Extra meaningsExpressing or showing anger; passionate.
Arousing pity, sympathy, or compassion; exciting pathos.
More examples
In contextWe could not bear to listen to the sick child's pathetic cries.
The child’s pathetic pleas for forgiveness stirred the young man’s heart.
You can't even run two miles? That’s pathetic.
Related
Quick test
Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.
Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.
Nearby
Origin
adjective
From Middle French pathétique, from Latin patheticus, from Ancient Greek παθητικός (pathētikós, “subject to feeling, capable of feeling, impassioned”), from παθητός (pathētós, “one who has suffered, subject to suffering”), from πάσχω (páskhō, “to suffer”). By surface analysis, path- + -etic.