1
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
a doleful expression on their faces as they said good-bye to the friends they had made over the summer
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
feeling unhappiness
the visibly doleful players, heartbroken about their loss
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of doleful
Her Night Moves may have been a thriller, though its focus was less the act of environmental sabotage that its characters carried out than its doleful aftermath.
—
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 13 May 2025
James, with his doleful countenance, makes the adult Hal vaguely sympathetic.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 17 Feb. 2025
Krauss’s ethereal voice is as haunting as ever on this mournful ballad, where doleful lyrics look back on a time marked by regret and deceit, and get elevated by the elegant interplay between Krauss’ voice and Jerry Douglas’s soul-piercing steel guitar.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 3 Feb. 2025
But while his focus may be on the end, Mahashmashana is anything but dour or doleful.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for doleful
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 13 May 2025
James, with his doleful countenance, makes the adult Hal vaguely sympathetic.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 17 Feb. 2025
Krauss’s ethereal voice is as haunting as ever on this mournful ballad, where doleful lyrics look back on a time marked by regret and deceit, and get elevated by the elegant interplay between Krauss’ voice and Jerry Douglas’s soul-piercing steel guitar.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 3 Feb. 2025
But while his focus may be on the end, Mahashmashana is anything but dour or doleful.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for doleful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doleful
Adjective
-
The Fitzgerald's final moments shrouded in mystery, Lightfoot's mournful song, the number of lives lost, and the size of the ship alone led her to quickly become the most famous shipwreck in Michigan.—
Sarah Moore,
Freep.com,
4 Nov. 2025
-
The zebras pranced, all frisky energy; the elephants, lumbering and mournful, trailed behind with their ancient thoughts.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Everyone's a little sad in The Holdovers, Alexander Payne's charmingly sour comedy about a student stuck at his New England boarding school over the holidays with only his grouchy professor (Paul Giamatti) and the school cook (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) for company.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The 25-year-old wide receiver is sad to see his teammates go, but trusts the vision of the New York front office.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
-
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
-
Pauline Collins, the exuberant British actress who inspired women — and men, too — to do something to change their unhappy lives with her Oscar-nominated and Olivier- and Tony-winning performances in Shirley Valentine, has died.—
Lisa de los Reyes,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Nov. 2025
-
That distaste didn’t hurt Spanberger and her ticket, because 18% of those unhappy voters backed her anyway.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The page so far has raised over $30,000 in donations, with a goal of $35,000 to cover funeral costs and to support Kaleigh and Christopher’s four children.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
6 Jan. 2026
-
The Avila family has also started a GoFundMe to help pay for the funeral and medical bills for Perla.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
4 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Countries such as the Netherlands and Canada that passed similar bills have gone on to expand this type of legislation to allow doctors to give lethal medication to the depressed and other people with mental illnesses.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Yes, our political leaders have given some of us reason to be resentful, cynical and even depressed.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
As the title suggests, the book details Turner's tale of a heartbroken widower who became an unlikely senior-citizen TV star on the first season of the reality show, which ended with an engagement to Nist.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Nov. 2025
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Thomas told the outlet that her brother’s diagnosis left their family heartbroken.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
On a tour full of reasons to be miserable, England will leave Australia with at least one ray of light for the future.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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The series centers around Timmy Turner, a miserable 10-year-old whose life improves significantly after he is given two fairy godparents named Wanda and Cosmo.—
Will Harris,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Doleful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doleful. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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