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
-
Meanwhile, Nancy Guthrie's Arizona community gathered for a vigil Wednesday evening while the world can't look away from an incident that is deeply, horrifically sad and frightening.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
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The song is sophisticated and simple, sad and somehow triumphant.—
Jed Gottlieb,
Boston Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Domingo Morel, a professor at New York University who studies state takeovers of local schools, said most local residents wind up unhappy with the methods used by state interventionists and the results.—
Bri Hatch,
Chalkbeat,
26 Jan. 2026
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Audrey, the single and childless and PhD-less product of a stable but unhappy home, has fallen short of the life planned out for her by her parents.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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For someone already feeling lonely, depressed or emotionally overwhelmed, turning to AI for connection can backfire.—
Brianna Hardcastle,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Feb. 2026
-
As Maneesh, the doe-eyed Disney Channel alum Karan Brar exudes depressed decency but never quite taps into the messy turmoil that might complicate the coder’s choices.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Though heartbroken, Punsalan and Swallow decided to compete at Lillehammer anyway.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
3 Feb. 2026
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An internal exam performed by her doctor indicated signs of a miscarriage at just five weeks, leaving her and her husband heartbroken.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Wearing them for an hour is miserable, let alone a whole day.—
Reece Andavolgyi,
InStyle,
8 Feb. 2026
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And finally, the charges dismissed but his family gone, Campbell won a miserable kind of freedom.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In 2006, ahead of the Turin Olympics, Vonn took a bad fall during downhill training and went to the hospital.—
ANDREW DAMPF,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
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Attending a bad Super Bowl is the Super Bowl of communal experiences.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In the footage, Rivera is initially apologetic to the trooper who pulls him over, saying sorry for going through a red light.—
Colleen Cronin,
Boston Herald,
22 Jan. 2026
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Bloom’s Keiwon Gulley is too irrepressible and in the moment to ever feel sorry for himself.—
Patrick Z. McGavin,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Potatoes naturally contain glycoalkaloids, but sprouting and green coloring indicate an increase in these compounds and a higher risk of toxic effects like vomiting and stomach upset.—
Aly Walansky,
Southern Living,
7 Feb. 2026
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Anything that promises to ease an upset stomach will galvanize the internet into trying it immediately.—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
7 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 9 Feb. 2026.
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