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| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | arousing deep sympathy |
| Synonyms: | agonizing, distressing, doleful, excruciating, harrowing, heartbreaking, heartsickening, moving, piteous, pitiful, sad, tear-jerking, touching, tragic |
| Main Entry: | moving |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | affecting, exciting |
| Synonyms: | affective, arousing, awakening, breathless, dynamic, eloquent, emotional, emotive, expressive, facund, far-out, felt in gut, grabbed by, gripping, hairy*, heartbreaking, heartrending, impelling, impressive, inspirational, inspiring, meaningful, mind-bending, mind-blowing*, motivating, persuasive, poignant, propelling, provoking, quickening, rallying, rousing, sententious, significant, something*, stimulating, stimulative, stirring, stunning, touching, turned on by |
| Antonyms: | unaffecting, unemotional, unexciting, unmoving |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | pathetic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | sad, affecting |
| Synonyms: | commiserable, deplorable, distressing, feeble, heartbreaking, heartrending, inadequate, lamentable, meager, melting, miserable, moving, paltry, petty, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, plaintive, poignant, poor, puny, rueful, sorry*, tender, touching, useless, woeful, worthless, wretched |
| Antonyms: | cheerful, happy, useful, worthwhile |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | piteous |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | miserable, pathetic |
| Synonyms: | beseeching, commiserable, deplorable, distressing, doleful, dolorous, entreating, grievous, heartbreaking, heartrending, imploring, lamentable, melancholy, mournful, moving, pitiable, pitiful, plaintive, poignant, poor, rueful, ruined, sad, sorrowful, supplicating, woeful, wretched |
| Notes: | piteous is generally not used when speaking of people, pitiable means 'able to be pitied,' and pitiful most often means 'insignificant; below contempt' |
| Antonyms: | cheerful, happy |
| Main Entry: | pitiful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | in bad shape; poor |
| Synonyms: | abject, affecting, afflicted, arousing, base, beggarly, cheap, cheerless, comfortless, commiserative, compassionate, contemptible, deplorable, despicable, dismal, distressed, distressing, grievous, heartbreaking, heartrending, inadequate, insignificant, joyless, lamentable, low, mean, miserable, mournful, moving, paltry, pathetic, piteous, pitiable, sad, scurvy, shabby, sorrowful, sorry, stirring, suffering, tearful, touching, vile, woeful, worthless, wretched |
| Notes: | piteous is generally not used when speaking of people, pitiable means 'able to be pitied,' and pitiful most often means 'insignificant; below contempt' |
| Antonyms: | excellent, happy, superb, superior, wonderful, worthwhile |
| Main Entry: | plaintive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | pathetic, woebegone |
| Synonyms: | beefing, bellyaching, cantankerous, crabby, cranky*, disconsolate, doleful, grief-stricken, grievous, grousing, grumpy*, heartrending, lamenting, lugubrious, melancholy, mournful, out of sorts, pathetic, piteous, pitiful, rueful, sad, saddening, sorrowful, wailing, wistful, woeful |
| Notes: | a plaintiff is the party who brings an action in a court of law, while plaintive means expressive of sorrow or melancholy |
| Antonyms: | cheerful, happy |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | poignant |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | affecting, painful |
| Synonyms: | agitating, agonizing, bitter, distressing, disturbing, emotional, heartbreaking, heartrending, impressive, intense, moving, passionate, pathetic, perturbing, piteous, pitiful, sad, sentimental, sorrowful, touching, upsetting |
| Antonyms: | calm, numb, pleasant, soothing, unaffecting |
| Main Entry: | profound |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | intense; emotional |
| Synonyms: | abject, absolute, acute, consummate, deep, deep-seated, deeply felt, exhaustive, extensive, extreme, far-reaching, great, hard, heartfelt, heartrending, hearty, keen, out-and-out, pronounced, sincere, thorough, total, utter |
| Antonyms: | mild, moderate, unemotional |
| Main Entry: | sorrowful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | very upset; grieving |
| Synonyms: | affecting, afflicted, dejected, depressed, disconsolate, distressing, doleful, dolent, full of sorrow, grievous, heartbroken, heartrending, heavy-hearted, hurting, in mourning, in pain, in sorrow, lamentable, lugubrious, melancholy, miserable, mournful, painful, piteous, plaintive, rueful, ruthful, sad, sick at heart, singing the blues, sorry, tear-jerking, tearful, unhappy, woebegone, woeful, wretched |
| Antonyms: | delighted, happy, joyful |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
