lovelorn

adjective

love·​lorn ˈləv-ˌlȯrn How to pronounce lovelorn (audio)
: bereft of love or of a lover
letters from lovelorn soldiers
lovelornness noun

Examples of lovelorn in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Up Peter Sarsgaard, Memory Sarsgaard’s turn as a lovelorn dementia patient was a surprise Best Actor winner at Venice. Vulture, 3 Nov. 2023 The apartment is poised to go to Lisette, an artsy, lovelorn neighbor who’s undergoing some housing drama of her own, and in whom Carrie sees her younger self. Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2023 That movie features Zendaya as a lovelorn trapeze artist, a world away from Dicks, where the emotional pay-off comes as its main foursome traverses the New York City sewer system. Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Oct. 2023 Rackstraw was Ben, six, missing four teeth, up on the balcony, hoisting a sail topped with a Union Jack, and trying to look at once wistful, lovelorn, and patriotic. Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2023 The occasion gives audiences plenty to savor over the course of about 2 hours and 40 minutes in Signature’s larger theater, the Max, even if the story of lovelorn Francesca (Erin Davie) and heartthrob Robert (Mark Evans) seems to tumble out of the gauzy, shopworn pages of a Harlequin romance. Peter Marks, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2023 Many more come from Michael Cera as Ken’s devoted, furtively lovelorn friend Allan, another arguable Mattel misjudgment but, for this film’s purposes, a valuable one. Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2023 Like the tedious love triangle that arises between Marco, a plainly awful finance bro (Graham Parkhurst), and the hopelessly lovelorn Ben. Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 June 2023 Dom DeLuise provides the comic relief as a ditzy, lovelorn crow, paving the way for Robin Williams’s and Eddie Murphy’s star turns as loudmouth Disney-cartoon sidekicks. Vogue, 17 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lovelorn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1637, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lovelorn was in 1637

Dictionary Entries Near lovelorn

Cite this Entry

“Lovelorn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lovelorn. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

lovelorn

adjective
love·​lorn ˈləv-ˌlȯ(ə)rn How to pronounce lovelorn (audio)
: deprived of or deserted by one's lover

More from Merriam-Webster on lovelorn

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!