lovelorn

adjective love·lorn \ ˈləv-ˌlȯrn \

Definition of lovelorn

:bereft of love or of a lover

letters from lovelorn soldiers

—

lovelornness

play \ˈləv-ˌlȯrn-nəs\ noun

See lovelorn defined for English-language learners

See lovelorn defined for kids

Recent Examples of lovelorn from the Web

More pop tunes will power the sequel, with Pierce Brosnan trying to sing for a second time, Meryl Streep starring as the formerly lovelorn Donna and Lily James joining the crew as a younger version of Donna.

— brian truitt, USA TODAY, "10 huge movies we already can't wait to see next summer," 22 Aug. 2017
The simultaneous beauty and harshness of the music can be disorienting or even comic—at one point, a quietly lovelorn ballad breaks open into an instrumental track consisting only of whip sounds.

— sasha geffen, Chicago Reader, "Music / Pitchfork Day One / LGBT / Visual Art Arca & Jesse Kanda played with confusion to liberate the Pitchfork crowd," 15 July 2017
Their voices and personalities — his charming but unreliable street hustler dad, his stoic lovelorn mother, his deeply religious grandmother and various colorful friends, mentors and love interests — all spring vividly to life in a fine performance.

— philip brandes, latimes.com, "Black, Baptist and gay: One man's journey from to Hollywood, vividly told," 30 June 2017
Unlike the lovelorn priest Imhotep (the subject of the iconic 1932 Mummy and its 1999 remake), Ahmanet lacks for personal motivation, seeking only to revive Set and unleash hell on earth.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "The Mummy Is a Monstrous Flop," 8 June 2017
An adult is the proverbial total package—the person who can be everything a lovelorn woman wants and needs.

— roxane gay, Marie Claire, "Of All Things, It's 'The Bachelorette' That's Fighting Toxic Masculinity in 2017," 7 June 2017
The song’s a slap back after having been lied to, continuing the album’s overall lovelorn message.

— tamar herman, Billboard, "Baek A Yeon Drops Ecclectic 'Bittersweet' EP," 31 May 2017
The project is far from Mr. Hayman’s previous musical life in Hefner, a lovelorn indie group that released four albums from 1998 to 2001.

— alex marshall, New York Times, "Finding Songs Hidden in Britain’s Thankful Villages," 25 May 2017
When her fiancé breaks off their upcoming nuptials, lovelorn Michal, an Orthodox Jew, decides to go ahead with the wedding anyway, counting on God to provide her with a husband in the next 30 days.

— OregonLive.com, "Movie picks: 'The Ornithologist,' Jonathan Demme tribute and more," 24 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lovelorn.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.