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

Despite being steeped in the sadness and frustration of the working class, Lee’s drama uses its film-within-a-film construct to refract the moral valences of labor through the prism of what people actually earn through their work.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026
This one, however, finds the director in a mood to confront the inevitable changes and march of time, its joys and sadness in the lives of ordinary people going about living it.

— Pete Hammond, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of sadness

Noun

Hollows haven’t been found elsewhere on planets in our solar system, and with no wind or water to form the thousands of puzzling depressions, scientists want to know what forces sculpted them.

— Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026
Symptoms include fever, depression, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration.

— Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of depression

Noun

The ceremonies provide an outlet for the grief and uncertainty that have gripped so many in Nepal, and ensure that a key religious rite is afforded to the dead.

— Andrew Jones, NBC news, 3 Sep. 2026
Parton died after a brief battle with cancer, with her death triggering an outpouring of grief, from fellow Hollywood stars to everyday fans who attended makeshift memorials.

— Edward Segarra, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of grief

Noun

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
Beneath all the sensuality and beauty, there’s also a lingering melancholy that feels very familiar to me.

— Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 16 June 2026

Definition of melancholy

Noun

Still, even on video, Davis doesn’t appear wracked with guilt or anguish about the possibility of spending the rest of his life in the Nevada penitentiary system.

— Jeff Weiss, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026
One day, Cole paged through an album whose acidic glues caused her particular anguish.

— Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of anguish

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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 11 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of dolefulness

noun

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