pathetically
adv/pəˈθɛtɪkli/
Etymology From pathetic + -ally.
1
In a pathetic manner; piteously.
- Young, pretty, an orphan — and under such circumstances, she told her weeping tale so pathetically, so mildly, and so unhatingly towards the prisoners at the bar, that all admired, praised, loved her.1838, Littell's Spirit of the Magazines and Annuals, page 486:
- The sails were split, the mainyard shivered, the wind blowing fresh, the night setting in; and all our chance was to make for Corfu--or, as F. pathetically called it, 'a watery grave.'1880, John Nichol, Byron:
2 more examples
- Parker bared the arm, polished a little spot with a wisp of cotton saturated with alcohol, grasped the pathetically flabby skin with experienced fingers; and, tipping up the syringe, pushed the piston gently to expel the air.1935, Lloyd C. Douglas, chapter 8, in Green Light, London: Peter Davies, page 137:
- Well, before you have to ask and get all blushy again, I'll take you home, since you're so pathetically without wheels.2007 April 8, Bill Cameron, chapter 8, in Lost Dog (Skin Kadash; 1), Woodbury, Minn.: Midnight Ink, →ISBN, page 102: