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
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Mendy Rendler, a longtime congregant, described the scene as a sad reminder that the congregation is displaced and not allowed to make repairs.—
Hannah Kliger,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
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Oooooofff, that is sad, my heart is breaking!—
Christina Grace Tucker,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Incensed, Oseguera plotted revenge in 2009 and 2010 with others who were unhappy with Milenio’s new leadership and spearheaded a deadly coup.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
22 Feb. 2026
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Last summer, the city also confirmed that since Crow Tow took over vehicle releases from the Police Department, no appeals hearings had been held for anyone unhappy with impounding or the prices the company charges.—
Lee Rood,
Des Moines Register,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Rent to pay Wongchingchai started to worry about the longevity of Thai Soon in 2025, when inflated ingredient prices, depressed sales, looming tax fees and lingering COVID-19 woes pushed her to borrow money from her uncle, her mom and her friends.—
Sarah Blaskovich,
Dallas Morning News,
24 Feb. 2026
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Her skull would incurred permanent damage, as it would have been distorted or depressed on the right side, as per the press release, which affected her appearance.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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That title follows the tragic story of British teenager Molly Russell, who was driven by social media to take her own life in 2017, and her heartbroken father’s quest to uncover the truth behind her death.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
25 Feb. 2026
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Savannah Guthrie and her heartbroken family are now offering a $1 million reward in hopes of receiving information about the whereabouts of their mother, Nancy Guthrie, who went missing from her Tucson, Arizona, home nearly a month ago.—
Cheyenne Roundtree,
Rolling Stone,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Schaeffer acknowledged that the Rockies were bad at baserunning — and many other baseball basics — during Colorado’s miserable 119-loss season in 2025.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
19 Feb. 2026
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Frank Lampard, who returned for a second miserable stint as caretaker boss in 2023.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The dragon is said to scare away bad spirits and bring good luck.—
Staff report,
Daily News,
22 Feb. 2026
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Weapon system autonomously detects and classifies moving targets The company revealed that the weapon system autonomously detects and classifies moving targets in poor visibility situations caused by darkness, bad weather, smoke or dust kicked up by helicopters.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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But the latest twist in the sorry tale has raised questions as to whether the royals have the full and wholehearted support and cooperation of the nation.—
Jamie Timson,
TheWeek,
20 Feb. 2026
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And, Mulder and Scully, sorry about that — get back to work.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The Pirates, making their best effort at an upset, went up seven with less than eight minutes to play before UConn’s captain made a pair of 3-point shots to evaporate the deficit.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
28 Feb. 2026
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Lots of people were upset that Fraschilla won’t be on the broadcast, but many KU supporters applauded the move.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Down in the mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/down%20in%20the%20mouth. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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