pathetically
/pəˈθɛtɪkli/adverb
pathetically is spelled P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C-A-L-L-Y: 12 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, pathetically means “In a pathetic manner; piteously” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pathetically?
| Letters | 12: P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C-A-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,663rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pathetically?
Pathetically appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pathetically?
- /pəˈθɛtɪkli/
Pathetically has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Neøn-pathetically.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pathetically
- more pathetically comparative
- most pathetically superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pathetically mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a pathetic manner; piteously.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pathetically in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in a pathetic manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pathétiquement |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pathetically come from?
From pathetic + -ally.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).