as in sad
feeling unhappiness
after a disastrous date like that, anyone would be down in the mouth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
Charlotte Lawrence loves a good, gut-wrenching, sad song.—
Leah Lu,
Rolling Stone,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Unfortunately, between the time of the taping and the show release, sad news came to Mike Kimmel’s team.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
As with almost any change, some residents were unhappy, mostly about being told to slow down.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Aug. 2025
-
President Donald Trump was unhappy with July’s U.S. jobs report, which showed hiring slowing (with 73,000 jobs added, compared to 100,000 predicted) and revised past months’ numbers.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
That view shifted Wednesday, with our double upgrade back to our buy-equivalent 1 rating after CEO David Ricks and several other company insiders bought lots of shares of the depressed stock.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Once rich and chubby and depressed, Johnson is now, at forty-seven, rich and ripped and determined to live forever.—
Tad Friend,
New Yorker,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
While the feline escaped unscathed, Lex admitted the incident left her heartbroken.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
-
That’s not to say Moore wasn’t heartbroken or incredibly stressed out during the wildfires.—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Daphne, miserable at boarding school; Bea, unhappy at home.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Aug. 2025
-
For years, parents faced a choice between exposing their kids to unknown dangers on social-media platforms or fighting a constant battle that would leave their kids isolated and miserable.—
Charlotte Alter,
Time,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
For the first time, a majority of Americans – 53% – said that moderate drinking, defined as one or two drinks per day, is bad for your health.—
Jeffrey Kopp,
CNN Money,
15 Aug. 2025
-
So, bad for the nation's largest city, bad for the Democratic Party, and bad for the nation overall given the importance of the Democrats mustering the ability to take back the House next year to counter Trump.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The original action comedy got its kicks (sorry) and laughs from his family members slowly discovering that their unassuming patriarch is actually a secret bad ass.—
Scott Phillips,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
-
The grandfather also showed him the sorry sight of contemporary hedges deformed by diabolical flail trimmers that chewed the natural architecture of branches into an anarchy of twigs.—
Annie Proulx,
New Yorker,
10 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Umpires must already see pitches accurately, move well and handle upset managers and players.—
Becky Sullivan,
NPR,
13 Aug. 2025
-
All three have gone after one another while 71-year-old conservative activist and talk show host Curtis Sliwa aims for a major upset for Republicans.—
Nick Mordowanec,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Aug. 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 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share