DOLEFUL Synonyms: 202 Similar and Opposite Words

doleful

adjective

ˈdōl-fəl

Definition of doleful

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

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

Adjective

East Suffolk, a windblown span of marshy coastland, has a reputation for stark, mournful beauty, and for drawing creative people with a taste for isolation and escape.

— Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
And after Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl died in 2024, dozens of mournful fans gathered to say goodbye to the beloved creature who flew around Manhattan and became a joy to many after someone let him out of his zoo enclosure the previous year.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of mournful

Adjective

When the modern-day world has nothing to offer us but AI slop, shrinkflation and a sad acceptance that we can't be bothered to do anything about global warming.

— Ian Stokes, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2026
This island that was so fantastic has become Work Island and that’s sad.

— Joe Lynch, Billboard, 19 Oct. 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

Dudus was apparently unhappy about a recent NBC News article that exposed Combs’ cushy life behind bars.

— Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
Tim Boyd San Juan Capistrano I’m sure there are Dodgers fans unhappy about losing to the Brewers.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of unhappy

Adjective

Celebrated as masterpieces today, at the time they were regarded as the unpolished works of a depressed, crazy man and commercially worthless.

— Joan Martelli, Time, 17 Oct. 2026
In the event of a severe winter or import bottlenecks, depressed storage levels not only narrow Europe's capacity to absorb supply shocks but also risk driving natural gas prices higher.

— , CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of depressed

Adjective

While mourning her father, the heartbroken Sara uses a piece of chalk to draw a circle on the floor of the attic resembling the one Rama creates to protect Sita.

— Sohini Sarah Pillai, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire honored Macy at a county Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday, telling community leaders that her death had left his office and the wider community heartbroken.

— Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of heartbroken

Adjective

Our dear old Katie, who used to wake us up every morning with her cheery smile, is now nothing more than a miserable LIB Boomer who comments on Danica Patrick's Instagram posts in the middle of the night.

— Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
That's the last time the Chargers had a start this poor, dropping their first 11 games during a miserable 1-15 season.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of miserable

Browse Nearby Words

doled out

doleful

dolefully

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“Doleful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doleful. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of doleful

adjective

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