1
: expressing sorrow : sorrowful
2
: full of sorrow : sad
3
: causing sorrow or melancholy : gloomy
mournfulness
noun
Examples of mournful in a Sentence
she had such a mournful expression that someone teasingly asked if her dog had died
the mournful survivors of the disaster were faced with the grim task of burying the dead
Recent Examples on the Web
For that reason, the show would have always been the curator’s natural point of entry even without this year’s mournful context.
—
Ben Croll, Variety, 12 June 2025
For May 1966’s expansive Pet Sounds, Wilson and lyricist Tony Asher created a song cycle documenting a passage from youthful innocence to mournful adulthood that the composer contrasted with delicately sophisticated yet openhearted orchestrations.
—Barry Walters, Billboard, 11 June 2025
Nicolas Cage plays a grizzled, mournful hermit named Rob who lives in the woods of the Pacific Northwest and spends his days hunting truffles with his pig, Apple, and then trading them to big-city buyer Amir (Alex Wolff).
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 May 2025
There’s a sinful sort of glee in watching all of this unfold, knowing that the same mournful character might be the next one to die.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for mournful
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ben Croll, Variety, 12 June 2025
For May 1966’s expansive Pet Sounds, Wilson and lyricist Tony Asher created a song cycle documenting a passage from youthful innocence to mournful adulthood that the composer contrasted with delicately sophisticated yet openhearted orchestrations.
—Barry Walters, Billboard, 11 June 2025
Nicolas Cage plays a grizzled, mournful hermit named Rob who lives in the woods of the Pacific Northwest and spends his days hunting truffles with his pig, Apple, and then trading them to big-city buyer Amir (Alex Wolff).
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 May 2025
There’s a sinful sort of glee in watching all of this unfold, knowing that the same mournful character might be the next one to die.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for mournful
Cite this Entry
“Mournful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mournful. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mournful
adjective
mourn·ful
ˈmō(ə)rn-fəl 
ˈmȯ(ə)rn-
1
: expressing or full of sorrow : sorrowful
a mournful face
2
: causing sorrow
a mournful story
mournfulness
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share