deserving or inciting pity; "a hapless victim"; "miserable victims of war"; "the shabby room struck her as extraordinarily pathetic"- Galsworthy; "piteous appeals for help"; "pitiable homeless children"; "a pitiful fate"; "Oh, you poor thing"; "his poor distorted limbs"; "a wretched life"
Something that is piteous is so sad that you feel great pity for the person involved. As they pass by, a piteous wailing is heard. = pitiful. expressing suffering and sadness in a way that makes you feel pity (piteus, from pietas; PITY)