(pities, ~ing, pitied)
1.
If you feel ~ for someone, you feel very sorry for them.
He felt a sudden tender ~ for her...
She knew that she was an object of ~ among her friends.
N-UNCOUNT: oft N for n
see also self-~
2.
If you ~ someone, you feel very sorry for them.
I don’t know whether to hate or ~ him.
VERB: V n
3.
If you say that it is a ~ that something is the case, you mean that you feel disappointment or regret about it.
It is a great ~ that all pupils in the city cannot have the same chances...
It seemed a ~ to let it all go to waste.
N-SING: a N, oft it v-link N that/to-inf feelings
4.
If someone shows ~, they do not harm or punish someone they have power over.
One should avoid showing too much ~...
N-UNCOUNT
5.
If you take ~ on someone, you feel sorry for them and help them.
No woman had ever felt the need to take ~ on him before.
PHRASE: V inflects