Pitiful way quote's brought up (8)
I believe the answer is:
pathetic
'pitiful' is the definition.
('pathetic' can be a synonym of 'pitiful')
'way quote's brought up' is the wordplay.
'way' becomes 'path' (path is a kind of way**).
'quote' becomes 'cite' ('cite' can be a synonym of 'quote').
'brought up' is a reversal indicator (down clues only).
'cite' reversed gives 'etic'.
'path'+'etic'='PATHETIC'
(Other definitions for pathetic that I've seen before include "Inspiring pity, contempt" , "Lacking forcefulness" , "Hapless, miserable" , "Wretched" , "Derisory" .)