pitiable

Name: pitiable, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈpɪti.əbəl/

//ˈpɪti.əbəl// adj

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“pitiable” is an uncommon English word, ranked #75,301 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#75,301
frequency rank, English: 8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - That deserves, evokes or can be given pity; pitiful.

Key facts for pitiable
Property	Value
Headword	pitiable
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/ˈpɪti.əbəl/
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#75,301
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pitiable” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). pitiable lands here:

#75,301

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for pitiable is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɪti.əbəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #75,301 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "That deserves, evokes or can be given pity; pitiful.".

pitiable doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French [Term?], from Old French piteable. By surface analysis, piti- + -able. The correct English form is pitiable, spelled P-I-T-I-A-B-L-E.

Definition

1
That deserves, evokes or can be given pity; pitiful.

Etymology

From Middle French [Term?], from Old French piteable. By surface analysis, piti- + -able.

This word in other languages

lastimero(Español)pitoyable(Français)bedauerlich(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pitiable"?

"pitiable" is spelled P-I-T-I-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɪti.əbəl/.

What does "pitiable" mean?

As an adjective, "pitiable" means: That deserves, evokes or can be given pity; pitiful.

How do you pronounce "pitiable"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pitiable" is /ˈpɪti.əbəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "pitiable"?

From Middle French [Term?], from Old French piteable. By surface analysis, piti- + -able. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “pitiable”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is P-I-T-I-A-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈpɪti.əbəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.