pity means A feeling of sympathy at the misfortune or suffering of someone or something. It carries an Arena rating of 1515, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, pity ranks #1,770 of 17,123 for Most Malleable Words, #1,856 of 17,113 for Most Elegant Words, #2,223 of 17,093 for Most Storied Words, #3,391 of 17,150 for Funniest Words.
pity is pronounced /ˈpɪt.i/.
Why “pity” is a great word
A feeling of sorrow and compassion aroused by the suffering or misfortune of another, rooted in Latin pietās, meaning 'dutiful conduct, compassion,' via Middle English pite and Anglo-Norman pité. Unlike compassion, which implies a kinship in suffering and an active desire to alleviate it, or condolence, a formal expression tied specifically to bereavement, pity is the quiet ache observed from a safer distance. It is the involuntary glance away from a stranger's public tears, the faint chill at a cough from a shadowed doorway, the precise weight of a coin dropped into an empty cup—a sorrow that acknowledges the chasm between the fortunate and the unfortunate, a flicker of shared fragility that does not always move the feet, but stirs the blood.
Etymology
From Middle English pitye, pitie, pittye, pitee, pite, from Anglo-Norman pité, pittee etc., from Old French pitet, pitié, from Latin pietās. See also the doublets pietà and piety.
noun
- A feeling of sympathy at the misfortune or suffering of someone or something.e.g.“I can't feel any pity towards the gang, who got injured while attempting to break into a flat.”
- Feeling of contempt one has for someone who is hopelessly inferior.
- Something regrettable.e.g.“It's a pity you're feeling unwell because there's a party on tonight.”
- Piety.
verb
- To feel pity for (someone or something).e.g.“You have got to pity the guy - he lost his wife, mother and job in the same month.”
- To feel contempt for someone who is hopelessly inferior.
- To make (someone) feel pity; to provoke the sympathy or compassion of.e.g.“She lenger yet is like captiv'd to bee; / That even to thinke thereof it inly pitties mee.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.