# pathetic

Pronunciation: say "puh-THET-ik" /pəˈθɛtɪk/

## Adjective

1. Provoking scorn or contempt, often by being miserably inadequate.
   - Simple: Very bad or weak in a way that makes people look down on it.
   - _After all that hype, the fireworks show was pathetic: ten minutes of sputtering rockets._
   - _Lying to your own grandmother to get money is pathetic._
2. Stirring pity, sympathy or compassion; full of pathos.
   - Simple: Making you feel sorry for someone or something.
   - _The refugees' pathetic bundles of belongings told the story of their long flight._
   - _Her pathetic plea for her son's release moved even the guards._

## Adjective

3. In anatomy, the same as trochlear. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: In the study of the body, the same as trochlear.
4. Showing or expressing anger; full of passion. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Showing anger or strong feeling.

## Origin

Ancient Greek παθητικός (pathētikós, "impassioned, capable of feeling, subject to feeling") goes back to πάσχω (páskhō, "to suffer"). It passed into Latin as patheticus and into Middle French as pathétique, which English borrowed.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pathetic (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).