Meaning
A sad, kind feeling for someone who is in trouble.
Test yourself on pity
Three quick questions. No account needed.
Know this word? Create a free account to track it.
Word origin
From Old French pite, from Latin pietas, meaning duty and kindness. The same Latin word gave English piety, so pity and piety are two branches of one root.
- Origin
- Old French
- Root
- pietas
- English cognates
- piety, pious
Examples
.
"Pity" is feeling sad for someone who is suffering.
!
"What a pity" means that is sad news.
.
To "take pity on" someone is to help them because you feel sorry for them.
Where this fits
Used in
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Meet this word in a story
Every course has graded stories written only with words you have been taught, plus grammar drills, a games arcade and printable worksheets. Chapters 1 and 2 are free.
Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.
English · Free printables
pity: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the English word "pity" (A sad, kind feeling for someone who is in trouble.): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is taught in chapter 19, lesson 10: pity, proper, lad and 7 more words.