Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Pitiful \Pit"i*ful\, a.
   1. Full of pity; tender-hearted; compassionate; kind;
      merciful; sympathetic.

            The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
                                                  --James v. 11.

   2. Piteous; lamentable; eliciting compassion.

            A thing, indeed, very pitiful and horrible.
                                                  --Spenser.

   3. To be pitied for littleness or meanness; miserable;
      paltry; contemptible; despicable.

            That's villainous, and shows a most pitiful ambition
            in the fool that uses it.             --Shak.

   Syn: Despicable; mean; paltry. See {Contemptible}. --
        {Pit"i*ful*ly}, adv. -- {Pit"i*ful*ness}, n.