as in sad
feeling unhappiness
after a disastrous date like that, anyone would be down in the mouth
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Recent Examples of down in the mouth
The movie feels more than a little down in the mouth, even with its string of cliffhangers, some visually impressive, tied together with some ill-fitting comic relief.
—
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 1 July 2025
Many of our emotion terms are references to states of the body—we’re downcast, bent out of shape, head over heels, shaken up, down in the mouth—which have slowly rigidified into dead metaphor.
—Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 1 July 2025
Many of our emotion terms are references to states of the body—we’re downcast, bent out of shape, head over heels, shaken up, down in the mouth—which have slowly rigidified into dead metaphor.
—Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for down in the mouth
Adjective
-
Steve's wife, Chelsey Bridges, announced the sad news on Friday in a video shared to her late husband's social pages.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Oct. 2025
-
This admission seemed sad—critics are supposed to take pride in withstanding disagreement.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Jason Kelce, brother of Travis and former star of the Philadelphia Eagles, has issued a statement after a fake quote of him appearing to criticize those unhappy with the selection of Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl Halftime Show went viral.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
15 Oct. 2025
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Advertisement Lawmakers are reportedly unhappy with briefings on the strikes, unable to clarify the legal basis of the strikes, and the refusal from Pentagon officials to provide unedited video footage of such incidents.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Matthiessen was born in 1927 to a pair of well-off, chronically depressed New Yorkers, people who were more likely to pour a stiff drink or take to their beds than to talk openly about their feelings.—
Maggie Doherty,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Roberts plays an unhappy American in Venice who is wooed by depressed, divorced, and done-with-love Allen in a variety of vaguely dishonest ways.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Actually, more than mad, the guy is heartbroken.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
15 Oct. 2025
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Among those heartbroken fans was DJ Premier, who was one of the first people to comment on his passing.—
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady,
Billboard,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Boise State generally made life miserable for Layne, the Idaho Vandals transfer who followed his coach, Jason Eck, from Moscow to Albuquerque.—
Jim Keyser,
Idaho Statesman,
12 Oct. 2025
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Brandon Marsh, who produced after a miserable April, looks more like a strong-side platoon corner outfielder than an everyday center fielder.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
So sorry, fantasy coaches and anybody that bet on me, my bad.—
Michael Nowels,
Mercury News,
20 Oct. 2025
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Joseph had maybe his worst day of the year.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The porcinis tumbled onto the kitchen counter in a sorry state.—
Callie Sumlin,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
15 Oct. 2025
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The high-concept social experiment show, in which a group of strangers work together to uncover the traitors, sorry, werewolves, amongst them, was a breakout hit on Canal+ in France and has already been adapted for ARD’s online service in Germany.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Madison is upset that Joe doesn’t seem that affected or eager to comfort her; meanwhile, Joe’s internally feeling like that one picture of Nicole Kidman.—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
15 Oct. 2025
-
The Barbz were upset with Nicki’s cancellation, and some pleaded with her to take a break from social media.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Down in the mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/down%20in%20the%20mouth. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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