sad vs pitiful

sad and pitiful both are adjectives.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
sad	No	Yes	No	No
pitiful	No	Yes	No	No

As adjectives, sad and pitiful are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of sad include deplorable, distressing, lamentable, sorry.

sad (adjective)	pitiful (adjective)
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness	bad; unfortunate
bad; unfortunate	inspiring mixed contempt and pity
of things that make you feel sad	deserving or inciting pity