Definition of doleful
1
: full of grief : cheerless
a doleful face
2
: expressing grief : sad
a doleful melody
3
: causing grief or affliction
a doleful loss
Test Your Vocabulary
Name That Food
-
- Name these cookies!

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share doleful
Time Traveler for doleful
The first known use of doleful was in the 13th century
See more words from the same century