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Webster 1913 Edition


Pathetic

Pa-thet′ic

(pȧ-thĕt′ĭk)
,
Adj.
[L.
patheticus
, Gr.
παθητικός
, fr.
παθεῖν
,
πάσχειν
, to suffer: cf. F.
pathétique
. See
Pathos
.]
1.
Expressing or showing anger; passionate.
[Obs.]
2.
Affecting or moving the tender emotions, esp. pity or grief; full of pathos;
as, a
pathetic
song or story
.
Pathetic action.”
Macaulay.
No theory of the passions can teach a man to be
pathetic
.
E. Porter.
Pathetic muscle
(Anat.)
,
the superior oblique muscle of the eye.
Pathetic nerve
(Anat.)
,
the fourth cranial, or trochlear, nerve, which supplies the superior oblique, or pathetic, muscle of the eye.
The pathetic
,
a style or manner adapted to arouse the tender emotions.

Webster 1828 Edition


Pathetic

PATHET'IC


Definition 2024


pathetic

pathetic

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

pathetic (comparative more pathetic, superlative most pathetic)

  1. Arousing pity, sympathy, or compassion.
    The child’s pathetic pleas for forgiveness stirred the young man’s heart.
  2. Arousing scornful pity or contempt, often due to miserable inadequacy.
    You can't even run two miles? That’s pathetic.
    You're almost 26 years old and you still can't hold a real job? That's pathetic.
    • 2005, In Her Shoes:
      Well you'd better think of something because middle-aged tramps aren't cute, they're pathetic.
  3. (obsolete) Expressing or showing anger; passionate.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

External links

  • pathetic in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • pathetic in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911