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pathetic

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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionarypa·thet·ic \pə-ˈthe-tik\ adjective ETYMOLOGY Middle French or Late Latin; Middle French pathetique, from Late Latin patheticus, from Greek pathētikoscapable of feeling, pathetic, from paschein (aorist pathein) to experience, suffer — more at pathos DATE 15981. having a capacity to move one to either compassionate or contemptuous pity2. marked by sorrow or melancholy : sad3. pitifully inferior or inadequate the restaurant's pathetic service4. absurd, laughable a pathetic costumeSynonyms: see moving• pa·thet·i·cal \-ti-kəl\ adjective• pa·thet·i·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverbEnglish Etymologypathetic 1598, "affecting the emotions, exciting the passions," from M.Frhttp://M.Fr.pathétique "moving, stirring, affecting" (16c.), from L.L.patheticus, from Gk. pathetikos "sensitive, capable of emotion," from pathetos "liable to suffer," verbal adj. of pathein "to suffer" (see pathos). Meaning "arousing pity, pitiful" is first recorded 1737. Colloquial sense of "so miserable as to be ridiculous" is attested from 1937. Pathetic fallacy (1856, first used by Ruskin) is the attribution of human qualities to inanimate objects.Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7patheticpath·et·ic / pE5Wetik / adjective1. making you feel pity or sadness 可怜的；可悲的；令人怜惜的 SYN pitiful : a pathetic and lonely old man 可怜又孤独的老翁 The starving children were a pathetic sight. 饥饿的儿童看起来是一幅凄惨的景象。 2. (informal, disapproving) weak and not successful 无力的；不成功的 SYN feeble : a pathetic excuse 牵强的藉口 She made a pathetic attempt to smile. 她勉强地微微一笑。 You're pathetic! 你真是废物！ • path·et·ic·al·ly / -kli / adv.: He cried pathetically. 他哭得很悲伤。 a pathetically shy woman 令人怜悯的腼腆女人 OLTpathetic adj.⇨ sad (a pathetic sight)⇨ unfortunate 2 (a pathetic excuse)Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridgedpa·thet·ic\pəˈthed.]ik, -et], ]ēk\ adjectivealso pa·thet·i·cal \]ə̇kəl, ]ēk-\Etymology: Middle French or Late Latin; Middle French pathetique, from Late Latin patheticus, from Greek pathētikos capable of feeling, sensitive, pathetic, from pathētos subject to suffering, liable to external influence (from path-, stem of paschein to experience, suffer) + -ikos -ic, -ical — more at pathos1. obsolete a. : exciting or stirring emotion or passion b. : marked by strong emotion : passionate2. a. : evoking tenderness, pity, sympathy, or sorrow : affecting, pitiable < looked old and pathetic — Ruth Park > < a pathetic confusion between knowledge and guesswork — M.R.Cohen > < pathetic and misdirected efforts to be one's true self — Sara H. Hay > b. : marked by sorrow, suffering, or melancholy : sad < mingling playful with pathetic thoughts — William Wordsworth > < you may be gentle and pathetic, or savage and cynical with perfect propriety — W.M.Thackeray > < the eloquent phrases I had arranged, pathetic or indignant, seemed out of place — W.S.Maugham >3. : of or relating to the superior oblique muscle or the trochlear nerveSynonyms: see moving

Pathetic From Adjective Late Capable Marked Pa·Thet·Ic Middle