Synonyms for pity
ˈpɪt ipity

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:2.5 / 2 votes

1. pityinterjection

   Synonyms:
   what a shame, shame, what a pity

2. pitynoun

   Short form of what a pity.

   Synonyms:
   what a pity, shame, what a shame

3. pitynoun

   (countable but not used in the plural) Something regrettable.

   Synonyms:
   shame

4. pitynoun

   Synonyms:
   ruth

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.0 / 1 vote

1. pity

   Pity is a feeling of grief or pain aroused by the weakness, misfortunes, or distresses of others, joined with a desire to help or relieve. Sympathy (feeling or suffering with) implies some degree of equality, kindred, or union; pity is for what is weak or unfortunate, and so far, at least, inferior to ourselves; hence, pity is often resented where sympathy would be welcome. We have sympathy with one in joy or grief, in pleasure or pain, pity only for those in suffering or need; we may have sympathy with the struggles of a giant or the triumphs of a conqueror; we are moved with pity for the captive or the slave. Pity may be only in the mind, but mercy does something for those who are its objects. Compassion, like pity, is exercised only with respect to the suffering or unfortunate, but combines with the tenderness of pity the dignity of sympathy and the active quality of mercy. Commiseration is as tender as compassion, but more remote and hopeless; we have commiseration for sufferers whom we can not reach or can not relieve. Condolence is the expression of sympathy. Compare MERCY.

   Synonyms:
   commiseration, compassion, condolence, mercy, sympathy, tenderness

   Antonyms:
   barbarity, brutality, cruelty, ferocity, hard-heartedness, hardness, harshness, inhumanity, mercilessness, pitilessness, rigor, ruthlessness, severity, sternness, truculence

   Preposition:
   >Pity on or upon that which we help or spare; pity for that which we merely contemplate; "have pity upon me, O ye my friends," Job xix, 21; "pity for a horse o'erdriven," Tennyson In Memoriam lxii, st. 1.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. pity

   Synonyms:
   mercy, compassion, tenderness, commiseration, ruth, sympathy, condolence

   Antonyms:
   cruelty, hardheartedness, relentlessness, pitilessness, ruthlessness

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. commiseration, pity, ruth, pathosnoun

   a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others

   "the blind are too often objects of pity"

   Synonyms:
   compassion, poignancy, ruth, commiseration, pathos, shame, condolence

2. pity, shamenoun

   an unfortunate development

   "it's a pity he couldn't do it"

   Synonyms:
   disgrace, ignominy, ruth, commiseration, pathos, shame, compassion

3. compassion, pityverb

   the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it

   Synonyms:
   shame, commiseration, pathos, compassionateness, compassion, ruth

4. feel for, pity, compassionate, condole with, sympathize withverb

   share the suffering of

   Synonyms:
   condole with, feel for, compassionate, sympathize with

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pitynoun

   Synonyms:
   compassion, commiseration, sympathy, fellow-feeling, bowels of compassion, melting mood

2. pityverb

   Synonyms:
   commiserate, compassionate, sympathize with, feel for, have pity or compassion for, feel sorry for, condole with

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pitynoun

   Synonyms:
   compassion, mercy, ruth, commiseration, condolence, sympathy

2. pityverb

   Synonyms:
   have pity for, condole with, commiserate

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "pity":

   regrettable, mercy, shame, penalty, regret, compassion, damage, punishment, sentence, please, injury, disgrace, sin, worth

How to pronounce pity?

How to say pity in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use pity in a sentence?

1. JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699):

   The devil and the damned have punishment without pity, misery without mercy, sorrow without succor, crying without comfort, mischief without measure, torments without end and past imagination. John Trapp

2. Don Marquis:

   Pity the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

3. Rod Serling:

   The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices -- to be found in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own -- for the children and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.

4. Jack Schneider:

   I pity the guy, this guy has been bombarded… under all this pressure.

5. David Dillen:

   If they were not taken care of they would have died a long time ago, i think it’s a pity people nowadays tend to look at the glass being half-empty instead of half-full.