Pathetic Meaning
/pəˈθɛtɪk/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjArousing pity, sympathy, or compassion; exciting pathos.
adjArousing scorn or contempt, often due to miserable inadequacy.
Sentence Examples
We could not bear to listen to the sick child's pathetic cries.
The Japanese people, thinking only of running away in such times, are pathetic.
Tom thinks that eating at a restaurant by himself is pathetic.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ attempt to lift the weight made everyone laugh.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The team's ____ performance in the final match disappointed thousands of loyal supporters.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"We have now arrived at one of the most pathetic and glorious events in the history of Israel, one which sanctifies the Lamanite race with the powers of martyrdom, and, by the blood of the victims, washes its garments white from many a former sin."
— 1883, George Reynolds, “History of the Book of Mormon: Contents of the Records, II,”, in Contributor:
"She held his hand in one of hers, but she too was dozing, and the two made a pretty, or rather a pathetic, picture."
— 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
"There was no hospital, or any accommodation for the sick men. Each mate nursed his fellow, and some strikingly pathetic touches of devotion were shown here and there amongst them."
— 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 150:
"[H]e was led away to a private sanitarium for mental disease, while in the newspapers appeared pathetic accounts of his mental breakdown and of the saintliness of his character."
— 1908 February 19, Jack London, “The Bishop”, in The Iron Heel, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 188:
"Well you'd better think of something because middle-aged tramps aren't cute, they're pathetic."
— 2005, In Her Shoes:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ attempt to lift the weight made everyone laugh.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The team's ____ performance in the final match disappointed thousands of loyal supporters.