piteous

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈpɪtiəs/ UK /ˈpɪtiəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
arousing pity; pitiful

The stray let out a piteous whine.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · arousing pity; pitiful pitiful pitiable pathetic heartrending plaintive doleful woeful lamentable

Opposites

cheerful joyful

Word family

Forms piteously

Derived forms piteouslypiteousness

Related forms pity pitiable pitiful pious

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman pitous, from Old French pitos, from Medieval Latin pietosus, from Latin pietas ('piety, compassion'), from pius ('dutiful, devout').

pietas Latin pius Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# piteous

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

## Meanings
1. arousing pity; pitiful

## Examples
- The stray let out a piteous whine.

## Synonyms
- pitiful
- pitiable
- pathetic
- heartrending
- plaintive
- doleful
- woeful
- lamentable

## Antonyms
- cheerful
- joyful

## Derived Forms
- piteously
- piteousness

## Related Forms
- pity
- pitiable
- pitiful
- pious

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pietas
- Root: pius

## Etymology
From Anglo-Norman pitous, from Old French pitos, from Medieval Latin pietosus, from Latin pietas ('piety, compassion'), from pius ('dutiful, devout').

## AI Etymology
Piteous comes from Anglo-Norman pitous, from Old French pitos, from Medieval Latin pietosus, from Latin pietas ('piety, compassion'), from pius ('dutiful, devout'). The etymological trail includes Latin pietas and Latin pius. As an adjective, piteous means arousing pity; pitiful. The same family is visible in derived forms such as piteously and piteousness and related forms such as pity, pitiable, pitiful, and pious.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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