Pathetic
[pə'θetɪk] or [pə'θɛtɪk]
Definition
(adj.) inspiring scornful pity; 'how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be especially if he is getting on in years'- Dashiell Hammett .
(adj.) inspiring mixed contempt and pity; 'their efforts were pathetic'; 'pitiable lack of character'; 'pitiful exhibition of cowardice' .
Checker: Ramona--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Expressing or showing anger; passionate.
(a.) Affecting or moving the tender emotions, esp. pity or grief; full of pathos; as, a pathetic song or story.
Editor: Louise
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. Affecting, touching, moving, melting, tender, plaintive.
Typed by Howard
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Affecting, moving, emotional, tender, melting, tender
ANT:Ludicrous, unimpassioned, farcical, unaffecting
Editor: Margaret
Definition
adj. showing passion: affecting the tender emotions: causing pity grief or sorrow: touching: (anat.) trochlear.—adj. Pathemat′ic pertaining to emotion.—adv. Pathet′ically.—ns. Pathet′icalness; Path′etism animal magnetism; Path′etist one who practises this.—The pathetic the style or manner fitted to excite emotion.
Edited by Jeremy
Examples
- Slowly the launch drifted round in a pathetic, clumsy circle, and slunk away to the land, retreating into the dimness. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Tarzan shook his head, and an expression of wistful and pathetic longing sobered his laughing eyes. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- For all who love me in short; for I would make all happy if I could, provided they don't grow too pathetic. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- It was, indeed, a pathetic sight to see a father venerate his son as the elder Edison did. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- He would listen to the most pathetic appeals with the most discouraging politeness and equanimity. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Will, in finishing his pathetic speech, appeared almost on the point of shedding tears. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- She struck Archer, of a sudden, as a pathetic and even pitiful figure. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- A most earnest, pressing, and emphatic entreaty, addressed to you in the most pathetic tones of the voice so dear to you, that you well remember. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- I'll be ever so good, pleaded Amy, looking as pathetic as she could. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- And, with this pathetic benediction, the assembly dispersed. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Don't be cheeky, Jack, remonstrated the landlord, in a melancholy and pathetic way. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Jo's voice was more pathetic than she knew. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- When she perceived the wild or pathetic appeal of his expressive countenance, she would relent, and for a while resume her ancient kindness. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- This Exposition brings us, indeed, to a dramatic and rather pathetic parting of the ways. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- The separation between her and her family was rather noisy than pathetic. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- Those worthy parents had again adopted the pathetics, finding it impossible to manage Worcester in any other way. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
Checker: Sumner