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
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McGuire’s goal here is entertainment (achieved) but his empathetic treatment of the indigenous tribes the English come into contact and conflict with gives his novel a mournful air of tragedy.—
Chloe Schama,
Vogue,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Adapted from Denis Johnson’s novella, Train Dreams stars Joel Edgerton in an elegiac, mournful portrait of a logger at the turn of the century.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Grifters can be analyzed by affect (jolly, cold, angry, greedy, sad) and/or by gender.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
-
There are no more smiles and no more hand-holding, only two sad adults.—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
22 Jan. 2026
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
-
Domingo Morel, a professor at New York University who studies state takeovers of local schools, said most local residents wind up unhappy with the methods used by state interventionists and the results.—
Bri Hatch,
Chalkbeat,
26 Jan. 2026
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Audrey, the single and childless and PhD-less product of a stable but unhappy home, has fallen short of the life planned out for her by her parents.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The page has raised over $14,000 in donations with a goal of $18,000 to cover funeral costs.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Five bikers have been indicted in connection to a bloody brawl between the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club and Demons of Hell Motorcycle Club that began at a funeral service on Long Island.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Aside from the loneliness, Rowland says day-after-day stuck inside has left her depressed and fearing the worst.—
Ashley Sharp,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
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The first episode largely focuses on the male perspective through the eyes of the angry, lonely, and depressed Jeremy (Jaquel Spivey).—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Neighbors said they were heartbroken to hear about the incident.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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The younger brother of a man shot celebrating his birthday in the Bronx witnessed the slaying and was wounded by the gunman too, the siblings’ heartbroken mother revealed Monday.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
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 30 Jan. 2026.
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