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
Relevance
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
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
James, with his doleful countenance, makes the adult Hal vaguely sympathetic.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 17 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for doleful
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
James, with his doleful countenance, makes the adult Hal vaguely sympathetic.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 17 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for doleful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doleful
Adjective
-
The mournful notes of taps echoed through rainy Bronx neighborhood Thursday afternoon as six New York Police Department officers shouldered the casket of one of their own: Officer Didarul Islam.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
31 July 2025
-
This second feature from filmmaker Frederik Louis Hviid is well-paced, tense, lovely to look at, and threaded through with a mournful realism.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
21 July 2025
Adjective
-
Charlotte Lawrence loves a good, gut-wrenching, sad song.—
Leah Lu,
Rolling Stone,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Unfortunately, between the time of the taping and the show release, sad news came to Mike Kimmel’s team.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Aug. 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
-
Things will become much clearer once Jenkins — who is unhappy with his current contract is currently sidelined with a back injury — begins practicing.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes.com,
27 July 2025
-
Galino is unhappy with how Jimenez is running his territory, and thinks Tommy can help the cartel get into the oil business.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
27 July 2025
Adjective
-
And at the heart of it are funeral plans that present his sons as a unit, and include Meghan Markle as well.—
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz,
StyleCaster,
17 July 2025
-
The Franklin Fire Department has announced funeral arrangements for Tucker.—
Gabrielle Chenault,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
Adjective
-
Now Ortberg’s plan to gradually raise the severely depressed production of its cash cow Max is showing green shoots, but to ensure dominance in the next decade, Boeing’s top chance at besting Airbus is designing and successfully commercializing a totally new and disruptive 737 successor.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
2 Aug. 2025
-
Researchers think this effect could buffer against or repair some of the weaker ties between neurons in a depressed brain.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
25 July 2025
Adjective
-
But making Anna a music-biz manager trying to keep her heartbroken client Ella (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) from a meltdown on the eve of a big concert at the Wiltern is just a laborious way of wedging Anna’s former band, Pink Slip, into a splashy concert climax.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Aug. 2025
-
But his chosen career path ended his life — and nearly killed his heartbroken father, who suffered a stroke upon hearing the news that his son had been gunned down.—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
29 July 2025
Adjective
-
Daphne, miserable at boarding school; Bea, unhappy at home.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Aug. 2025
-
For years, parents faced a choice between exposing their kids to unknown dangers on social-media platforms or fighting a constant battle that would leave their kids isolated and miserable.—
Charlotte Alter,
Time,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Doleful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doleful. Accessed 11 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share