Nearby Words
Synonyms
noun
1.
sympathetic or kindly sorrow evoked by the suffering, distress, or misfortune of another, often leading one to give relief or aid or to show mercy: to feel pity for astarving child.
2.
a cause or reason for pity, sorrow, or regret: What a pity you could not go!
verb (used with object)
3.
to feel pity or compassion for; be sorry for; commiserate with.
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Pity
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
verb (used without object)
Idiom4.
to have compassion; feel pity.
5.
have
/take pity, to show mercy or compassion.
/take pity, to show mercy or compassion.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To pity
Example Sentences
- If its as easy as it looks, I pity people who get caught in the air.
- Spoiled rich kids making fools of themselves are just a fact of life — to envy, pity or ridicule as one wishes.
- It started, as many great love stories do, with pity.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
pity
early 13c., from O.Fr. pite, pitet (11c., Mod.Fr. pitié), from L. pietatem (nom. pietas) "piety, affection, duty," in L.L. "gentleness, kindness, pity," from pius (see pious). Replaced O.E. mildheortness, lit. "mild-heartness," itself a loan-translation of L. misericordia.
EXPANDEnglish pity and piety were not fully distinguished until 17c. The verb meaning "to feel pity for" is attested from 1520s. Pitiful is c.1300 in sense of "compassionate" (implied in pitifully); mid-15c. in sense of "exciting or deserving pity;" 1580s in sense of "mean, wretched, contemptible."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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