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pathetically + adjective
pathetically 修饰形容词时，常表示“程度差得可怜”，带有同情或轻蔑的意味。
The starving puppy looked pathetically thin.
那只挨饿的小狗看起来瘦得可怜。
令人同情地；可怜地
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
令人同情地；可怜地
in a manner arousing sympathy and compassion
The starving puppy looked pathetically thin.
那只挨饿的小狗看起来瘦得可怜。
可悲地；可怜地。
In a pathetic manner; piteously.
He looked at me pathetically, hoping I would forgive him.
他可怜地看着我，希望我能原谅他。
The team played pathetically in the second half and lost by five goals.
球队下半场表现得很可悲，最终输了五个球。
She cried pathetically when her dog ran away.
她的狗跑丢时，她哭得很可怜。
pathetically 修饰形容词时，常表示“程度差得可怜”，带有同情或轻蔑的意味。
The starving puppy looked pathetically thin.
那只挨饿的小狗看起来瘦得可怜。
He begged pathetically for mercy.
他可怜地乞求怜悯。
Not this
He looked at me pathetic.
Use this
He looked at me pathetically.
looked at 是动词短语，修饰动作要用副词 pathetically，不能用形容词 pathetic；中文“可怜地看着我”中的“可怜地”是状语，对应副词。
Not this
She is a pathetically girl.
Use this
She is a pathetic girl.
girl 是名词，需要形容词 pathetic 作定语；pathetically 是副词，不能修饰名词。中文“可怜的姑娘”里“可怜的”是形容词。
Not this
She pathetically comforted the crying child.
Use this
She sympathetically comforted the crying child.
pathetically 表示“令人同情地、可怜地”，描述动作发出者自身显得可怜；如果想表达“怀着同情地”，要用 sympathetically。二者语义方向相反。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
弱得可怜；可悲地软弱
The team's defense was pathetically weak.
这支球队的防守弱得可怜。
瘦得可怜；单薄得可怜
The stray cat looked pathetically thin.
那只流浪猫瘦得可怜。
可悲地不足；可怜地不够
His excuse was pathetically inadequate.
他的借口可悲地站不住脚。
感激得可怜；可怜巴巴地感激
She was pathetically grateful for any scraps of kindness.
她对任何一点善意都感激得可怜。
急切得可怜；可怜巴巴地热切
He was pathetically eager to please his boss.
他可怜巴巴地急于讨好老板。
可悲又好笑；让人哭笑不得
The villain's attempt at a threat was pathetically funny.
那个反派想威胁人的样子可悲又好笑。
Use pathetically naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
把 pathetically 拆成 pathetic(可怜的)+ally：想象一个可怜的“盟友”正悲哀地看着你，令人同情又觉得可悲。
语域：mixed 常见场景：describing someone's sad situation or suffering、criticizing a weak or futile attempt 该词根据语境可有两种口气：描述令人同情的处境时多用于正式或书面叙述；评论某人或某事做得太差时则带轻蔑语气，比较常见于口语和评论中。
pathetically 读 /pəˈθetikli/，重音在 -thet-。sympathetically、apathetically、aesthetically、synthetically 都以 thetically 结尾，且重读部分都是 /θetɪkli/，押韵；theoretically 拼作 -etically，但重读元音后的 /etɪkli/ 相同，也押韵。注意 emphatically 拼写相近，却读 /ɪmˈfætɪkli/，重读元音是 /æ/，与 pathetically 不押韵。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.