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
Relevance
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
-
Rosalía joined in September, writing about the purpose of her art but also the sadness around her birthday.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
15 Feb. 2026 -
The manipulations also affected how much sadness and anger participants reported feeling while scrolling.—
Simon Makin,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Buckley navigates the film in elemental sorrow without sentimentality, delivering what many consider the performance of the year, and undoubtedly her career so far.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Now, their families are turning sorrow into service.—
Ashley Paul,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Next, using a statistical tool known as a Cox regression model, the researchers equalized the participants based on factors such as age, smoking status, BMI, physical activity, alcohol intake, depression, family history of dementia, medication use and more.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
15 Feb. 2026
-
His relationship with Serena developed during his wife’s battle with depression.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In the r/MyBoyfriendisAI subreddit, many users posted about their grief.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
-
As her power-hungry characters go through the five stages of grief, denial is the hardest one to let go of.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Even now, more than 40 years later, the lasting image of her career is of Decker laying on the track in anguish and tears after colliding with Zola Budd in the 1984 Olympic 3,000-meter run.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Néfissa cries loudly and with anguish about her son, but refuses to acknowledge his truth.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Fanning’s name was the first called when nominations were announced, signaling that Scandinavian melancholy would be notably absent that morning.—
Glenn Whipp,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
But Wednesday’s report about the parking fees quickly backfiring should turn this melancholy into fury.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 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
“Dolefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dolefulness. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
