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
-
Is this a deeply sad, award-winning tearjerker of a drama?—
James Factora,
Them.,
26 Sep. 2025
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The schism that developed between Ric and Ben is a very sad part of the story.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Smart, much like Georgia’s fan base, is pretty unhappy after yet another loss to Alabama.—
Seth Emerson,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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While there are reasons to be unhappy with the performance, each win in the NFL is hard to get.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The writer, known for her trailblazing work in confessional poetry, was clinically depressed and died by suicide at age 30.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
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Barbeau had been living alone, depressed and isolated since Jessica’s death.—
Jon Michael Varese,
The Atlantic,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The most painful part, the tragedy of our lives, was that Brenda was heartbroken.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
30 Sep. 2025
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This isn't the first time the internet has been left heartbroken when a dog didn't want to play.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The same goes for Treinen, who endured a miserable September, allowing 12 runs (10 earned) in 9 1/3 innings.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
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And so, a miserable team performance was cemented into a 26-21 loss, the team’s first of the year.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Many of the people opining and whining about how this moment could be as bad or worse than the 2000 bust are uninformed or ahistorical.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
28 Sep. 2025
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Thankfully, my passport wasn’t stolen, nor was it stranded somewhere in the middle of the rainforest (my worst fear at the time).—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But let’s see what happens when Mississippi State takes its show on the road in a game of significance (sorry, Southern Miss).—
Matt Hayes,
USA TODAY,
3 Oct. 2025
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Neal Rubin Lynn Blasey feels sorry for her alligator, a reptile who is also a fish out of water.—
NEAL RUBIN,
Freep.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Dart wasn’t the only Giants rookie to have a substantial impact in the upset victory.—
Dane Brugler,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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Nudge your kids to make decisions for themselves, even when other people are upset.—
Megan Sauer,
CNBC,
30 Sep. 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 5 Oct. 2025.
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