dolorous

adjective

ˈdō-lə-rəs How to pronounce dolorous (audio)
Definition of dolorousnext
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning dolorous ballads of death and regret

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of dolorous The album’s pointed cover, showing a dolorous schoolboy gripping a phone while holding a basketball, hints at the weighty revelations contained therein. — Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025 Above ground, the images are reminiscent of Bela Tarr or the particularly dolorous stretches of early Tarkovsky movies, an impression accented by the strange siren-like blares, twangs and choral interludes of Tako Zhordania’s otherwordly score. — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 8 July 2023 The next evening, a lanky youth in military fatigues mumbles something less dolorous from the same podium and Llewyn can only watch from the sidelines as the audience applauds with vigour. — Hazlitt, 24 Aug. 2022 Things had changed just enough to incorporate this kind of hard, dolorous realism. — Wesley Morris, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2020 His Grammy supremacy, to the exclusion of Sheeran, shows that the dolorous guitarist no longer holds intrinsic sway over the smiling showman for the awards' purposes. — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 28 Nov. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dolorous
  1. mournful
  2. weeping
  3. funeral
  4. heartbroken
  5. bitter
  6. wailing
Adjective
  • The teen’s father, Jesus Rivas, looked at the screen with a mournful expression and repeatedly checked on Martínez as their lawyer, Patrick Steinfeld, sat next to them.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 July 2026
  • The teen’s father, Jesus Rivas, looked at the screen with a mournful expression and repeatedly checked on his wife.
    — Nancy Dillon, VIBE.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of mournful
Adjective
  • And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.
    — David Mamet, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022
  • The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.
    — Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021
Definition of weeping
Adjective
  • McConnell’s office did not immediately return a request for comment from Forbes regarding his plans to return to work or attend funeral services.
    — Zachary Folk, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
  • Following Bodhi’s death, a GoFundMe was created to help cover funeral expenses for Bodhi and provide counseling to the family grieving his loss.
    — Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 25 July 2026
Definition of funeral
Adjective
  • The families of these men and women grieving, heartbroken, yet filled with pride.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 July 2026
  • Nearly everything Irene does here is monstrous, and yet Corsini never stops encouraging viewers to search for the heartbroken woman suddenly obscured by a wild avatar of self-protection.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 24 July 2026
Definition of heartbroken
Adjective
  • An Old Tom gin, with its softer profile and slight sweetness, can round out the drink but may also compromise the precise balance of bitter, sweet and dry that defines a true Negroni.
    — Mark Littler, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • Young grapes lack sugars that would otherwise bind with bitter-tasting phenols in wildfire smoke.
    — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 26 July 2026
Definition of bitter
Adjective
  • Sitting opposite an old people’s home in a residential corner of Paris’ 14th arrondissement, La Santé’s unassuming presence is only given away by the occasional wailing siren as prisoners are transported to and from the site.
    — Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Definition of wailing

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Cite this Entry

“Dolorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dolorous. Accessed 29 Jul. 2026.

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