doleful

adjective

ˈdōl-fəl How to pronounce doleful (audio)
Definition of dolefulnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of doleful The Canadian filmmaker Sophy Romvari does something similar with the new movie Blue Heron, a semi-autobiographical piece whose structure loops in on itself, melding fact and fiction into a doleful portrait of a family tragedy. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026 Black Hills bucket-listing aside, time here is best spent tubing and fishing on the river, luxuriating in the infrared sauna, or listening to a doleful coyote song under a blanket of stars. — Ashlea Halpern, Time, 12 Mar. 2026 His doleful father, portrayed by Paul Dooley in a magically right match of performer and material, despairs for his blithely romantic son’s future. — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for doleful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doleful
  1. mournful
  2. sad
  3. weeping
  4. unhappy
  5. funeral
  6. depressed
  7. heartbroken
  8. miserable
Adjective
  • Whitney Houston’s powerhouse version stands alone, but Dolly’s quieter, mournful ode to her collaboration with Porter Wagoner is the artful, formative sketch to a colossal mural.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • These pauses also give the documentary an air of mournful respect, making its pace more deliberate than the standard talking heads-doc that might be mistaken as a stylistic counterpart.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of mournful
Adjective
  • That might also explain the movie’s attempts to supercharge its few action sequences, as if the filmmakers realized belatedly that a sad book without much incident wasn’t exactly prime summer studio release fodder.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Obviously, a really sad story and hard to listen to at times.
    — Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of sad
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
Definition of weeping
Adjective
  • Garcia and fellow Democrats are mindful of what’s driving unhappy voters who face a vexing mix of inflation and weak economic growth.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Sometimes kids performing things on TV look unhappy or awkward, but this girl seems to genuinely enjoy singing while her dad plays guitar.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of unhappy
Adjective
  • Another loved one, Kelsi Yun, has organized a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral costs and support Reagan’s surviving family.
    — Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 18 Aug. 2026
  • There is a funeral procession in the morning and a wedding in the afternoon.
    — Terry Gross, NPR, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of funeral
Adjective
  • Traffic through the strait is beginning to increase, but remains sharply depressed.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Bessent, for one, said a key reason he got involved in politics was to help tackle deficits running at a pace unprecedented for times outside of major wars, pandemics or depressed job markets.
    — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of depressed
Adjective
  • The mysterious death of a missing New York City grandmother whose body was found in a drainage ditch outside a Las Vegas airport has left her family with more questions than answers, heartbroken relatives said Saturday.
    — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Shuter also revealed that Ragland is heartbroken at the thought of her daughter being so far away.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of heartbroken
Adjective
  • That two-run swing merely offset the shortstop’s second consecutive game with an error, however, in what’s been a miserable defensive season.
    — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • These findings align with consumer confidence data from the Conference Board, which found earlier this month that baby boomers and Gen Xers are far more miserable about the economy than younger generations.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of miserable

Browse Nearby Words

doled out
doleful
dolefully
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Cite this Entry

“Doleful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doleful. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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