as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
the novelist dolefully remarked that the proceeds from his last book would scarcely buy a dollhouse, let alone a real house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dolefully
Adverb
-
Its inhabitants were left without light or heat during a bitterly cold polar vortex, with temperatures as low as 2 degrees Fahrenheit.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
5 Jan. 2026 -
Hasina was bitterly criticized by both her opponents and independent critics for sending Zia to jail.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
This should be, but sadly will probably not be, the line that shouldn’t have been crossed.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Discovering the chemicals responsible for smoke taint is, sadly, only half the battle.—
Nicola Twilley,
New Yorker,
5 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Inspired by a 2017 Los Angeles Time article about a San Gabriel Valley tragedy, director Eric Lin’s heartbreaking feature painfully reminds us of the need to get help and how mental health issues within Asian cultures need to be destigmatized.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
By Sunday, he was gone, a mercifully swift ending to painfully slow decline.—
Scott Maxwell,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Jan. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Dolefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dolefully. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share