pitiablyadv.

1688 J. Kettlewell Pract. Believer ii. iv. 65 He will Reward Good Things, tho' done with Difficulty and Reluctance, yea when Pitiably stain'd with impure mixtures.

1754 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison VII. xlii. 207 Even this exception in the case you hint at, is owing, in some measure, to a pitiably misguided imagination.

1786 T. Holcroft Hagar in Wilderness p. vii The translation should often assume a majesty and a tone very distinct from the original; which, else, would have been pitiably degraded.

1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion iv. 149 A confidence impaired So pitiably, that, having ceased to see With bodily eyes, they are borne down by love. View more context for this quotation

1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt III. xliii. 158 We are so pitiably in subjection to all sorts of vanity.

1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. i. v. 183 Slowly, with bent head, absurdly, pitiably like a small boy in deep disgrace, he walked to the door.

1991 R. Goldstein Dark Sister viii. 156 Proving herself to be not only unbrilliant but pitiably susceptible to the good looks and easy charm of a worthless suitor.