pity

I. noun (plural pities) Etymology: Middle English pite, from Anglo-French pité, from Latin pietat-, pietas piety, pity, from pius pious Date: 13th century 1. a. sympathetic sorrow for one suffering, distressed, or unhappy b. capacity to feel pity 2. something to be regretted <

it's a pity you can't go

> Synonyms: pity, compassion, commiseration, condolence, sympathy mean the act or capacity for sharing the painful feelings of another. pity implies tender or sometimes slightly contemptuous sorrow for one in misery or distress <

felt pity for the captives

>. compassion implies pity coupled with an urgent desire to aid or to spare <

treats the homeless with great compassion

>. commiseration suggests pity expressed outwardly in exclamations, tears, or words of comfort <

murmurs of commiseration filled the loser's headquarters

>. condolence applies chiefly to formal expression of grief to one who has suffered loss <

expressed their condolences to the widow

>. sympathy often suggests a tender concern but can also imply a power to enter into another's emotional experience of any sort <

went to my best friend for sympathy

> <

in sympathy with her desire to locate her natural parents

>. II. verb (pitied; pitying) Date: 15th century transitive verb to feel pity for intransitive verb to feel pity