pitiable
/ˈpɪti.əbəl/adjective
pitiable is spelled P-I-T-I-A-B-L-E: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,980th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, pitiable means “That deserves, evokes or can be given pity; pitiful” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pitiable?
| Letters | 8: P-I-T-I-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 74,980th 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 pitiable?
Pitiable appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,980th 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 pitiable?
- /ˈpɪti.əbəl/
Pitiable has 4 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)-Vealhurl-pitiable.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pitiable
- more pitiable comparative
- most pitiable superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pitiable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
That deserves, evokes or can be given pity; pitiful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pitiable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense that deserves, evokes or can be given pity:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pitoyable |
| German | bedauerlich, bedauernswert, erbärmlich, kläglich, erbarmenswert |
| Spanish | lastimero, lastimoso |
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 pitiable come from?
From Middle French [Term?], from Old French piteable. By surface analysis, pity + -able.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).