Pity — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others

an unfortunate development

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pˈɪɾi/

🇬🇧British English

/pˈɪti/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pˈɪti/

2 syllables Say it as /pˈɪɾi/.

Examples

the blind are too often objects of pity
it's a pity he couldn't do it

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

shame compassion compassionate ruth pathos feel for condole with sympathize with commiseration

Parts of Speech

noun	a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others “the blind are too often objects of pity”
noun	an unfortunate development “it's a pity he couldn't do it”
noun	the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it
verb	share the suffering of

Word Forms

commiserate	verb	to feel or express sympathy or compassion
piteous	adjective	deserving or inciting pity; ; ; - Galsworthy
pity	verb	share the suffering of
pathetic	adjective	deserving or inciting pity; ; ; - Galsworthy
compassionate	verb	share the suffering of
compassionate	adjective	showing or having compassion
pity	noun	the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it
compassion	noun	a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Mitleid

ein Gefühl von Mitgefühl und Trauer über das Unglück anderer

🇫🇷French

pitié

un sentiment de sympathie et de tristesse pour le malheur des autres

🇪🇸Spanish

lástima

un sentimiento de simpatía y tristeza por las desgracias de los demás

🇮🇹Italian

pietà

un sentimento di simpatia e dolore per le disgrazie degli altri

🇳🇱Dutch

medelijden

een gevoel van sympathie en verdriet voor de tegenslagen van anderen

🇵🇹Portuguese

pena

um sentimento de simpatia e tristeza pelos infortúnios dos outros

🇷🇺Russian

жалость

чувство сочувствия и скорби по поводу чужих несчастий

India

🇮🇳Hindi

दया

दूसरों के दुर्भाग्य के प्रति सहानुभूति और दुःख की भावना

🇧🇩Bengali

করুণা

অন্যদের দুর্ভাগ্যের জন্য সহানুভূতি এবং দুঃখের অনুভূতি

🇮🇳Tamil

பரிதாபம்

மற்றவர்களின் துரதிர்ஷ்டங்களுக்கு அனுதாபம் மற்றும் துக்கம்

🇮🇳Telugu

జాలి

ఇతరుల దురదృష్టాల పట్ల సానుభూతి మరియు విచారం యొక్క భావన

🇮🇳Marathi

दया

इतरांच्या दुर्दैवाबद्दल सहानुभूती आणि दुःखाची भावना

🇮🇳Gujarati

દયા

અન્યના કમનસીબી માટે સહાનુભૂતિ અને દુ: ખની લાગણી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕರುಣೆ

ಇತರರ ದುರದೃಷ್ಟಕರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸಹಾನುಭೂತಿ ಮತ್ತು ದುಃಖದ ಭಾವನೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സഹതാപം

മറ്റുള്ളവരുടെ നിർഭാഗ്യങ്ങളോടുള്ള സഹതാപവും സങ്കടവും

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਤਰਸ

ਦੂਜਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਬਦਕਿਸਮਤੀ ਲਈ ਹਮਦਰਦੀ ਅਤੇ ਦੁੱਖ ਦੀ ਭਾਵਨਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

افسوس

دوسروں کی بدقسمتی کے لیے ہمدردی اور غم کا احساس

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

遗憾

对他人不幸的同情和悲伤的感觉

🇯🇵Japanese

残念

他人の不幸に対する同情と悲しみの感情

🇰🇷Korean

연민

다른 사람의 불행에 대한 동정심과 슬픔

🇻🇳Vietnamese

lòng thương xót

một cảm giác đồng cảm và đau buồn trước những bất hạnh của người khác

🇹🇭Thai

สงสาร

ความรู้สึกเห็นอกเห็นใจและความโศกเศร้าต่อความโชคร้ายของผู้อื่น

🇮🇩Indonesian

disayangkan

perasaan simpati dan duka atas kemalangan orang lain

🇵🇭Filipino

kawawa naman

isang pakiramdam ng pakikiramay at kalungkutan para sa mga kasawian ng iba

🇲🇾Malay

kesian

perasaan simpati dan sedih atas musibah orang lain

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

شفقة

- الشعور بالتعاطف والحزن على مصائب الآخرين

🇮🇷Persian

حیف

احساس همدردی و اندوه برای بدبختی های دیگران

🇹🇷Turkish

acımak

Başkalarının talihsizlikleri için sempati ve üzüntü duygusu

🇮🇱Hebrew

רַחֲמִים

תחושה של הזדהות וצער על חוסר המזל של אחרים

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'pity'?

The primary meaning of 'pity' is 'a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'pity' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'pity' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'pity' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'pity' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'pity' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'pity' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'pity' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'pity' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'pity' in a professional email?

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Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'pity' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted