Nearby Words
| Main Entry: | |
| 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: | doleful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | depressing |
| Synonyms: | afflicted, cast down, cheerless, crestfallen, dejected, depressed, dirgeful, dismal, dispirited, distressing, dolent, dolorous, down, down in the mouth, downcast, downhearted, dreary, forlorn, funereal, gloomy, grieving, lamentable, lugubrious, melancholy, mournful, painful, piteous, pitiful, plaintive, rueful, sad, somber, sorrowful, woebegone, woeful, wretched |
| Antonyms: | cheerful, elated, glad, gleeful, happy, joyful |
| Main Entry: | heartrending |
| 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: | miserable |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | destitute, shabby |
| Synonyms: | abject, bad, contemptible, deplorable, despicable, detestable, disgraceful, godforsaken, impoverished, indigent, inferior, lamentable, low, meager, mean, needy, paltry, pathetic, penniless, piteous, pitiable, poor, poverty-stricken, sad, scanty, scurvy, shameful, sordid, sorry, squalid, tragic, vile, worthless, wretched |
| Antonyms: | generous, rich, wealthy |
| 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: | 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: | poor |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | unfortunate, unhappy |
| Synonyms: | commiserable, hapless, ill-fated, luckless, miserable, pathetic, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, rueful, unlucky, wretched |
| Antonyms: | fortunate, great, happy, lucky |
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.
