pity
pity
/ˈpɪti/
Word Family
1 singular used to show that you are disappointed about something SYNONYM shame
a pity (that…) It's a pity that you can't stay longer.
‘I've lost it!’ ‘Oh, what a pity.’
What a pity that she didn't tell me earlier.
This dress is really nice. Pity it's so expensive.
Oh, that's a pity.
It would be a great pity if you gave up now.
a pity to do something It seems a pity to waste this food.
That would be rather a pity, wouldn't it?
The place was great, but it was a pity about the weather.
Collocations Dictionary
adjective
greatreal
preposition
pity about
phrases
a bit of a pitysuch a pitywhat a pity…
2 uncountable a sad feeling caused by the pain and troubles of others I took pity on her and lent her the money.
(formal) I beg you to have pity on him.
I don't want your pity.
a look/feeling/surge of pity
pity for somebody/something I could only feel pity for what they were enduring.
He had no pity for her.
I threw the child some money out of pity.
I took pity on him and allowed him to stay.
She was full of pity for him.
We begged him to have pity on us.
a cruel leader without pity
an unfortunate man who inspires pity
She experienced a sudden feeling of pity for the young man.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verb + pity
be filled withbe full offeel…
preposition
out of pitywithout pitypity for…
phrases
a feeling of pitya sense of pityhave pity on somebody…
Idioms
e.g.
pity
/ˈpɪti/
not used in the progressive tenses
to feel sorry for somebody because of their situation; to feel pity for somebody
pity somebody He pitied people who were stuck in dead-end jobs.
Compulsive gamblers are more to be pitied than condemned.
pity somebody doing something I pity her having to work such long hours.
e.g.
Word Origin
Middle English (also in the sense ‘clemency, mildness’): from Old French pite ‘compassion’, from Latin pietas ‘piety’; compare with piety.