| 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: | base |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | vulgar, low |
Synonyms: |
abject, abominable, cheap, coarse, common, contemptible, corrupt, depraved, despicable, disgraceful, dishonorable, disreputable, foul, grovelling, humble, ignoble, immoral, indelicate, loathsome, lowly, mean, menial, offensive, paltry, pitiful, plebeian, poor, scandalous, servile, shameful, shoddy, sleazy, sordid, sorry, squalid, trashy, ugly, unworthy, vile, worthless, wretched |
Antonyms: |
good, honest, moral, noble |
| Main Entry: | contemptible |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | despicable, shameful |
Synonyms: |
abhorrent, abject, abominable, bad, base, beggarly, cheap, crass, currish, degenerate, despisable, detestable, dirty, disgusting, hateful, heel, ignoble, ignominious, inferior, low, low-down, lowest, mean, odious, outcast, paltry, pitiable, pitiful, poor, sad, scummy, scurvy, shabby, sordid, sorry*, swinish, unworthy, vile, worthless, wretched |
| Notes: | contemptible means deserving contempt, while contemptuous means bestowing contempt; the first sense of contemptuous was 'despising law and order' |
Antonyms: |
admirable, admired, good, honorable, loved, respectable, worthy |
| Main Entry: | despicable |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hateful; beyond contempt |
Synonyms: |
abject, awful, base, beastly, cheap, contemptible, degrading, detestable, dirty, disgraceful, disreputable, down, ignominious, infamous, insignificant, loathsome, low, low-life, mean, no-good, pitiful, reprehensible, shameful, slimy*, sordid, vile, worthless, wretched |
Antonyms: |
desirous, honorable, likeable, loveable, respectable, virtuous, worthy |
| 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: | forlorn |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hopeless, inconsolable |
Synonyms: |
abandoned, alone, bereft, blue*, cheerless, comfortless, cynical, defenseless, depressed, deserted, desolate, despairing, desperate, despondent, destitute, destroyed, disconsolate, down and out, dragging, forgotten, forsaken, friendless, fruitless, futile, godforsaken, helpless, homeless, in the dumps, lonely, lonesome, lost, miserable, oppressed, pathetic, pessimistic, pitiable, pitiful, solitary, tragic, unhappy, vain, weighed down, woebegone, wretched |
Antonyms: |
cheerful, comforted, consolable, happy, hopeful, joyful, pleased |
| Main Entry: | grievous |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | severe, painful; serious |
Synonyms: |
afflicting, agonizing, appalling, atrocious, calamitous, damaging, deplorable, dire, dismal, disquieting, distressing, disturbing, dreadful, egregious, flagrant, glaring, grave, harmful, heart-rending, heavy*, heinous, hurtful, injurious, intolerable, lamentable, monstrous, mournful, offensive, onerous, oppressive, outrageous, pathetic, pitiful, sad, shameful, sharp, shocking, sorrowful, taxing, tough, tragic, troublesome, unbearable, upsetting, villainous, weighty, wounding |
Antonyms: |
good, harmless, pleasant |
| Main Entry: | heartbreaking |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | disappointing |
Synonyms: |
affecting, afflictive, agonizing, bitter, calamitous, cheerless, deplorable, dire, distressing, grievous, heart-rending, joyless, lamentable, moving, pitiful, poignant, regrettable, sad, touching, tragic, unfortunate |
Antonyms: |
exhilarating, heartwarming, joyous, wonderful |
| 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: | humble |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | poor, inferior |
Synonyms: |
base, beggarly, common, commonplace, contemptible, humdrum, ignoble, inglorious, insignificant, little, low, low-born, low-ranking, lowly, meager, mean, measly, menial, miserable, modest, obscure, ordinary, paltry, petty, pitiful, plebeian, proletarian, puny, rough, scrubby, seemly, servile, severe, shabby, simple, small, sordid, trivial, unassuming, uncouth, underprivileged, undistinguished, unfit, unimportant, unpretentious, unrefined, vulgar, wretched |
Antonyms: |
luxurious, rich, superior |