Meanings
adverbpitifully (comparative more pitifully, superlative most pitifully)
comparative more pitifully · superlative most pitifully
- In a pitiful manner.
The coral faded even from her lips, till they were as white as Leo's face, and quivered pitifully.
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, “The Balance Turns”, in She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC, page 198
Origin
- Middle Englishpetefully
- Englishpitifully
From Middle English petefully, petifullie, pyttyfully, pytyffully; equivalent to pitiful + -ly.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
pitifully. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pitifully
MLA
“pitifully.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pitifully. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pitifully,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pitifully.
Source: pitifully on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.