1
as in weeping
expressing or suggesting mourning
she had such a mournful expression that someone teasingly asked if her dog had died
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2
as in sad
feeling unhappiness
the mournful survivors of the disaster were faced with the grim task of burying the dead
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3
as in depressing
causing unhappiness
the mournful death of a beloved entertainer
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mournful
The plaintive melodies are mournful yet comforting.
—
Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 12 May 2026
Here, his mournful ex-convict is finally tasting freedom in a country that wants to keep him metaphorically shackled.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
There was something mournful in watching Jackson grapple with the realization that his fame, talent, or the myth of him could save him from the reckoning or the boundaries of appropriate behavior with children.
—Steven Gray, Time, 29 Apr. 2026
The hour-long event included mournful hymns, prayers and the laying of wreaths by the participants, which included representatives from many countries around the world.
—ABC News, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mournful
Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 12 May 2026
Here, his mournful ex-convict is finally tasting freedom in a country that wants to keep him metaphorically shackled.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
There was something mournful in watching Jackson grapple with the realization that his fame, talent, or the myth of him could save him from the reckoning or the boundaries of appropriate behavior with children.
—Steven Gray, Time, 29 Apr. 2026
The hour-long event included mournful hymns, prayers and the laying of wreaths by the participants, which included representatives from many countries around the world.
—ABC News, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mournful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mournful
Adjective
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And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
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The other six ascended to the highest office in the land as a result of the dysfunction that has made Peru a punch line in political-science circles, a sad story of ungovernability played on a loop.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
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There’s a one-note quality to the film’s comedy that grows steadily, even deliberately, more abrasive over two hours, but the sad, brash, gradually shrinking bigness of the personalities at its center holds your attention.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
Almost a year out to sea is very depressing.—
Steve Walsh,
NPR,
23 May 2026
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Some sendoffs are mundane; others are downright depressing.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
Adjective
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Archaeologists excavating an ancient cemetery in Cairo have found a cache of burial objects that could shed new light on funeral practices in one of Egypt‘s most important religious centers.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
1 June 2026
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Wotus coached third base for four games last week while Borg was in the Dominican Republic to attend funeral services for his grandmother.—
Andrew Baggarly,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Adjective
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What’s leaving one unhappy child at home compared to sending five hundred people home from the theatre happy?—
Deborah Treisman,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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Shohei Ohtani almost became the most unhappy pitcher to ever be part of throwing a no-hitter.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
28 May 2026
Adjective
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By then, Thomsen says, the public perception had shifted from regarding it as tough and controversial to seeing it as desperate and pathetic.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
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The plan involved discovering a long lost princess, hopping on a plane to London, breaking into a museum store room, and enlisting the help of a very pathetic historian.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 May 2026
Adjective
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Ali later finds her, a moment that leaves him completely heartbroken, before testing the drugs and confirming they were laced with fentanyl.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
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Horace leaves Hollywood and a heartbroken but determined Aaron behind.—
Meredith Maran,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
Adjective
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One reason Red Sea traffic remains depressed is because ships can bypass it and avoid the security risk altogether by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.—
Spencer Kimball,
CNBC,
30 May 2026
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As anxiety has mounted about depressed entry-level hiring, with Gen Z crowds even booing luminaries such as Eric Schmidt amid commencement speeches touting AI, Dimon has given warm but blunt advice to ambitious young workers.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mournful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mournful. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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