as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
dolorous ballads of death and regret
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Example Sentences
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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 nodding plume and the dolorous bell.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 29 Sep. 2022
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
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, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Nov. 2017
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 nodding plume and the dolorous bell.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 29 Sep. 2022
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
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, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Nov. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dolorous
Adjective
-
On the soundtrack, mournful wailing music presents her as a tragic character.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
2 June 2026
-
The pair end the episode romantically riding together with a mournful song playing, which is akin to Dutton-family love-making.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
25 May 2026
Adjective
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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
Adjective
-
Archaeologists excavating an ancient cemetery in Cairo have found a cache of burial objects that could shed new light on funeral practices in one of Egypt‘s most important religious centers.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
1 June 2026
-
Wotus coached third base for four games last week while Borg was in the Dominican Republic to attend funeral services for his grandmother.—
Andrew Baggarly,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
Ali later finds her, a moment that leaves him completely heartbroken, before testing the drugs and confirming they were laced with fentanyl.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
-
Horace leaves Hollywood and a heartbroken but determined Aaron behind.—
Meredith Maran,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
This collection of poems—Orr’s thirteenth—bears bitter witness to environmental degradation, moral corruption, and the aging of a body and of a generation, all viewed from a bird’s eye, wrapped in the language and tone of myth.—
Craig Morgan Teicher,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
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Latest in bitter back-and-forth The sour words about each candidate’s PAC connections are only the latest in a bitter back-and-forth between the two Democrat women.—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
1 June 2026
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
Cite this Entry
“Dolorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dolorous. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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