Also means
pitiful
Usage Note
Pathétique is a false friend: in formal or classical French it means moving or emotionally stirring (une scène pathétique), but in modern colloquial usage it has shifted to mean pitiful or contemptible, mirroring the English 'pathetic'. Beethoven's Sonate Pathétique uses the older, elevated sense. The adverb pathétiquement follows the same dual register.
Examples
"Son discours était vraiment pathétique."
Natural Translation
His speech was truly pathetic.
Related Words
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