Pathetic has a couple meanings. a) Sad - affecting, commiserable, crummy, deplorable, distressing, feeble, heart-rending, heartbreaking, inadequate, lamentable, meager, melting, miserable, moving, paltry, petty, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, plaintive, poignant, poor, puny, rueful, sorry, tender, touching, useless, woeful, worthless, wretched b) Hopeless - base, contemptible, degraded, dejected, deplorable, destitute, dishonorable, downtrodden, fawning, forlorn, groveling, hang dog, hopeless, humbling, humiliating, low, miserable, outcast, pathetic, pitiable, pitiful, servile, squalid, stark, submissive, underfoot, worthless, wretched Pick your favorite. ~Bill