PIT'IFUL, adjective [See Pity.] Full of pity; tender; compassionate; having a heart to feel sorrow and sympathy for the distressed. James 5:11. 1 Peter 3:8. [This is the proper sense of the word.] 1. Miserable; moving compassion; as a sight most pitiful; a pitiful condition. 2. To be pitied for its littleness or meanness; paltry; contemptible; despicable. That's villainous, and shows a most pitiful ambition in the fool that uses it. 3. Very small; insignificant.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI