
Pitiful
Emotional Charge
'Pitiful' often carries a strong emotional weight and suggests empathy or sympathy from the speaker.
The child's pitiful wailing after losing her toy made everyone in the room sad.
Not Always Negative
Although commonly negative, 'pitiful' can be neutral when referring to something that merely invokes pity.
Her voice was so pitiful that I gave her the last piece of my cake.
Enhancing Descriptors
Use with additional descriptors to emphasize the extent of pity, such as 'truly pitiful' or 'somewhat pitiful.'
The injured puppy’s truly pitiful limping prompted passersby to help.