dirgelike

adjective

as in elegiac

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dirgelike
  1. elegiac
  2. melancholy
  3. wailing
  4. lamentable
  5. aching
  6. sorrowful
  7. funeral
  8. doleful
Adjective
  • Painful memories force her to confront first her own choices, then personal grief and finally, the family secrets that provide the novel’s distinctly elegiac and holistic tone.
    — Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The elegiac poems in The Man with Night Sweats are sharper, plainer, starker than Gunn’s early formal poems.
    — Colm Tóibín, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of elegiac
Adjective
  • Madeleine is beautiful and melancholy, spending hours driving around San Francisco and contemplating a painting that seems to haunt her.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Gentling the Horse’s absurdist humor and breakneck tempos signify a sharp break from 2023’s melancholy The Art of Forgetting.
    — Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of melancholy
Adjective
  • Sitting opposite an old people’s home in a residential corner of Paris’ 14th arrondissement, La Santé’s unassuming presence is only given away by the occasional wailing siren as prisoners are transported to and from the site.
    — Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Definition of wailing
Adjective
  • Alas, Medak also is famous for directing the lamentable Ghost in the Noonday Sun (1974), a comedy about bumbling 17th century pirates that starred the combustible Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan.
    — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The diminishing role of the federal government in addressing this crisis is lamentable.
    — Monitor Reader, Christian Science Monitor, 28 July 2026
Definition of lamentable
Adjective
  • The homestretch of the drama, however, takes the story in a chilling direction, packing an aching quantity of feeling into a single glance at a security camera as someone climbs into a car and leaves the compound, never to be heard from again.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 26 May 2026
  • Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (1997) Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain is an aching, tender slow burn shaped by absence.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
Definition of aching
Adjective
  • Their sorrowful slow-dance, at first with the air and then with each other, set to the ensemble evoking the crooning of a record player, is just wonderful.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2026
  • He is often called on by friends and others for things joyful (weddings) and sorrowful (funerals).
    — Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of sorrowful
Adjective
  • Spanning 30,500 square feet, the museum houses 19 permanent exhibits that explore everything from presidential and papal funerals to historic hearses, cremation, mourning traditions, and funeral customs from around the world.
    — Jill Robbins, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Jenson launched a GoFundMe to raise money to cover funeral expenses and provide for Ty.
    — Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of funeral
Adjective
  • Langley’s voice, which is emotive but steady, seems unusually well suited to this sort of doleful yearning.
    — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Measles is the canary in the coal mine for vaccination and public health, and at this moment, the canary is singing a doleful tune.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2026
Definition of doleful
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.

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dirgelike
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Cite this Entry

“Dirgelike.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dirgelike. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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