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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dolefulness

Noun

Beat shows how so many of the sounds that were prevalent in the mid-’90s contained a unique, end-of-the century sadness.

— Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 4 Oct. 2026
People can experience grief, sadness, relief, conflict or combinations of these emotions after any pregnancy outcome.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of sadness

Noun

Because so many of Gunn’s friends died in San Francisco, a city where Gunn had found happiness and freedom, then these elegies are also a monument to a time of communal sorrow and mourning.

— Colm Tóibín, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Another decision that those who are rejected face, at least if anger is mixed in with sorrow, is where to direct that anger.

— George Loewenstein, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of sorrow

Noun

In April 2022, Wynonna and Ashley’s mother, Naomi Judd, died by suicide at 76 after a lifelong battle with depression.

— Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
The drug has been associated in recent years with high-profile figures such as Elon Musk, who said it was prescribed to him to treat depression.

— Violet Jira, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of depression

Noun

The ending’s weight comes from the huge scope of the Trask family’s grief, but even more, its emotional heft comes from how clearly this East of Eden sees Lee, the person who has always understood the things the Trasks are still attempting to learn.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Painful memories force her to confront first her own choices, then personal grief and finally, the family secrets that provide the novel’s distinctly elegiac and holistic tone.

— Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of grief

Noun

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
On the one hand, there’s a fascination with collective joy and the forms of vernacular invention that aspire to it; on the other, there’s an underlying melancholy that points to the inevitability of isolation, an epistemology of loneliness.

— Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 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 5 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of dolefulness

noun

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