1
as in sadness
a state or spell of low spirits
with the resigned dolefulness of an athlete who knows his playing days are over, he cleared out his locker for the last time
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sorrow
deep sadness especially for the loss of someone or something loved
a period of dolefulness that seemed to last forever for the widower
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dolefulness
Noun
-
Jane Goodall’s passing is a moment of profound sadness.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
8 Oct. 2025 -
Multiplying forms of addiction, proliferating mental illness—in the midst of the Iraq War, with the Cold War paradigm dead alongside the USSR, and the Regan 1980s in the rearview, the United States of the 00s was marked by a pervasive sadness captured in Wallace’s prose.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Those human qualities help break down walls between him and Eve, played with great spirit by Lee as a genius holding onto her sorrow.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Oct. 2025
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The work contains sonorous bouts of sorrow, but rage is its primary register.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Additionally, mental health plays a significant role in global mortality, according to the new research, with burden from anxiety and depression surging.—
Deidre McPhillips,
CNN Money,
12 Oct. 2025
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What begins as occasional recreational betting too often spirals into financial instability, anxiety and depression, and high-risk habits.—
Paul Solotaroff,
Rolling Stone,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Meanwhile, the central Tennessee community that is home to the plant is grappling with a wave of grief as 16 families try to make sense of the tragedy.—
Dalia Faheid,
CNN Money,
12 Oct. 2025
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Zhao is in London promoting her newest film Hamnet, starring Irish talent Mescal as William Shakespeare and Buckley as his wife, Agnes, who are thrown into contrasting experiences of grief following the death of their young son, Hamnet.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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That pivot is in Alex’s sudden move toward becoming an amateur stand-up comic, using the stage and the microphone as therapy platforms for his anguish.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
10 Oct. 2025
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Nothing has surfaced to document her anguish.—
Jane Kamensky,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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An aura of melancholy does not stop Madvillainy from being endlessly joyful and playful.—
Pitchfork,
Pitchfork,
30 Sep. 2025
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But even here, the ache of the lovers’ separation registers with only a muffled sense of melancholy.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
11 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Dolefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dolefulness. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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