pitiful
/ˈpɪt.ɪ.fl̩/
"pitiful" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pitiful” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #21,315 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #21,315
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - So appalling or sad that one feels or should feel sorry for it; eliciting pity.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pitiful |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈpɪt.ɪ.fl̩/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #21,315 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pitiful” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pitiful is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɪt.ɪ.fl̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #21,315 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for pitiful, with forms such as "iptiful", "piitful", and "pitfiul". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pityful, piteful, piteeful. By surface analysis, pit(i) + -ful. The correct English form is pitiful, spelled P-I-T-I-F-U-L.
Definition
- 1So appalling or sad that one feels or should feel sorry for it; eliciting pity.
- 2Of an amount or number: very small.
- 3Feeling pity; merciful.
Etymology
From Middle English pityful, piteful, piteeful. By surface analysis, pit(i) + -ful.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: iptiful,piitful,pitfiul,pitifful,pitiflu,pitifull,pitiufl,pittiful,ppitiful,ptiiful
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pitiful - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "pitiful"?
What does "pitiful" mean?
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Using “pitiful”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-I-T-I-F-U-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɪt.ɪ.fl̩/ (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.