DOLEFULNESS Synonyms: 121 Similar and Opposite Words

dolefulness

noun

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

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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

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for dolefulness

Noun

And that is what produces, for me, the anger and the rage and the sadness.

— Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
Fortuna noted rapid surveys also found that children with at least one immigrant parent are more likely to experience nightmares and higher levels of sadness.

— Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of sadness

Noun

Following the ruling, Benson drowns her sorrows over cocktails with Sharpe, and, in a revealing, impeccably acted scene, airs out her grievances about her job.

— Marlow Stern, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
As their division rivals popped bottles inside Yankee Stadium’s visiting clubhouse, the home side filled with frustration and sorrow.

— Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of sorrow

Noun

The depression that plagues him in winters is nowhere to be found.

— David Mack, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
But their emergence also underscores how much psychiatry still needs to learn about the biological underpinnings of depression and why patients respond differently to treatment.

— Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of depression

Noun

The local journalists who cover the Bend community every day were not immune from the grief and sadness after today’s deadly shooting of children at an elementary school.

— Phil Helsel, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2026
Hundreds of mourners later gathered at Rehman Baba cemetery for mass funeral prayers as grief gripped the neighborhood and announcements echoed from mosque loudspeakers, urging residents to join in prayers for those killed.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of grief

Noun

The vestiges of his fading memory flash by with a haunting plainness, the melancholy of all this Americana and the sadness of a mind ravaged by time strike the viewer plainly at the end of this maximalist piece of life-writing.

— Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
The question for me is whether or not Lloyd will also manage to capture the melancholy of a deceptively serious play, notwithstanding its reputation.

— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of melancholy

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dolefully

dolefulness

dole out

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“Dolefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dolefulness. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of dolefulness

noun

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