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
-
There’s both comfort in finding myself in that child’s face, and also sadness.—
Benny Peterson,
Vogue,
4 May 2026 -
Amid the sadness and uncertainty, though, one moment captured the aviation community rallying around its own.—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
3 May 2026
Noun
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Unique is meant to embody that racial trauma, but Moore doesn’t possess the grit necessary to make the pain and sorrow resonate.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
-
The reader feels the moment’s vitality and presence, and the sorrow at its loss, but not because Ford insists on it.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Children are also on screens now more than ever, which is believed to contribute to more anxiety, depression, aggression and hyperactivity.—
Stacker,
Hartford Courant,
9 May 2026
-
Schizoaffective disorder is a mental health condition that is marked by a mix of schizophrenia symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, and mood disorder symptoms, such as depression, mania and a milder form of mania called hypomania, per the Mayo Clinic.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
These could simply be great-grandparents put peacefully to rest in old age, a kind of grief far removed from that which children feel over parents who simply cannot care for them, or parents lost to murder or addiction, as some of the letters describe.—
Casey Cep,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
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Kera Sanchez is editor-in-chief of Get Griefy Magazine, which is dedicated to helping people living with grief find solace, inspiration, and a sense of community.—
Edie Kasten,
CBS News,
9 May 2026
Noun
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Being separated from her parents as a baby was an unhealed sorrow for Heidi, and her anguish followed her into the messy intimacy of family life.—
Nicholas Dawidoff,
New Yorker,
10 May 2026
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Her outside-looking in remembrances (Romvari shoots scenes sometimes from the perspective of looking through a window) elliptically convey much – parental anguish about what would be the best call to action for the entire family, not the upheaval felt within the family.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
7 May 2026
Noun
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His reputation, as captured by obituaries in the Guardian and the Times of London, is one of genteel melancholy and precise social observation.—
Charlie Tyson,
Harpers Magazine,
21 Apr. 2026
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Still, the achievement carried a touch of melancholy for Lovell.—
Daniel I. Dorfman,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Dolefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dolefulness. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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