pathetic

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /pəˈθɛtɪk/ UK /pəˈθɛtɪk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
arousing pity, or contemptibly inadequate

The stray dog gave a pathetic whimper at the door.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · arousing pity, or... pitiful pitiable poignant feeble contemptible woeful lamentable

Opposites

admirable impressive heartening cheerful

Word family

Forms pathetically

Derived forms pathetically

Related forms pathos empathy sympathy apathy

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

pathetic fallacy
the attribution of human feelings to natural phenomena or inanimate objects

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Pathetic entered English in the late 16th century through late Latin from Greek pathētikos “sensitive,” based on pathos “suffering, disease, feeling.” Its early English sense was “affecting the emotions.”

Etymology

From Late Latin patheticus, from Greek pathētikos 'capable of feeling, sensitive', from pathētos 'liable to suffer', from pathos 'suffering, feeling', from paskhein 'to suffer'.

pathētikós Ancient Greek páthos Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# pathetic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /pəˈθɛtɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /pəˈθɛtɪk/

## Meanings
1. arousing pity, or contemptibly inadequate

## Examples
- The stray dog gave a pathetic whimper at the door.

## Synonyms
- pitiful
- pitiable
- poignant
- feeble
- contemptible
- woeful
- lamentable

## Antonyms
- admirable
- impressive
- heartening
- cheerful

## Derived Forms
- pathetically

## Related Forms
- pathos
- empathy
- sympathy
- apathy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pathētikós
- Root: páthos

## Etymology
From Late Latin patheticus, from Greek pathētikos 'capable of feeling, sensitive', from pathētos 'liable to suffer', from pathos 'suffering, feeling', from paskhein 'to suffer'.

## AI Etymology
Pathetic is from Late Latin patheticus, from Greek pathētikos 'capable of feeling, sensitive', from pathētos 'liable to suffer', from pathos 'suffering, feeling', from paskhein 'to suffer'. Important recorded forms include pathētikós (Ancient Greek) and páthos (Ancient Greek). The current sense covers arousing pity, or contemptibly inadequate. The wider family includes derived forms such as pathetically and related words such as pathos, empathy, sympathy, and apathy.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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