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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
These are haunting hills streaked with a soft, mournful color palette.
—
Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Springsteen has sounded bitter before, and mournful, but never this purely angry.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
All Fox could do was cradle Truman’s hand, stare straight ahead, summon a proud mournful dignity, and try to pretend that the people all around them did not exist.
—Literary Hub, 12 Jan. 2026
This internal struggle is portrayed with raw honesty, focusing on the darker, mournful corners of humanity that inspired the record’s lyrics.
—Robert Lang, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mournful
Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Springsteen has sounded bitter before, and mournful, but never this purely angry.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
All Fox could do was cradle Truman’s hand, stare straight ahead, summon a proud mournful dignity, and try to pretend that the people all around them did not exist.
—Literary Hub, 12 Jan. 2026
This internal struggle is portrayed with raw honesty, focusing on the darker, mournful corners of humanity that inspired the record’s lyrics.
—Robert Lang, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mournful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mournful
Adjective
-
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
-
There will be keggers, hook-ups, late nights and early mornings, all without shading Greg as a sad old man trying to turn back time.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
5 Mar. 2026
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But none of them can say this, none of them can let their feelings be known, and, instead of a triangle, what ends up happening is three sad lines fallen in on each other, lying in a pile, waiting for someone to come along and prop them back up into a shape.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The aggression with which both parties have worked to manipulate district lines—while loudly inveighing against the other party for doing the exact same thing—is cynical and depressing.—
Ian Crouch,
New Yorker,
4 Mar. 2026
-
The case exposed the depressing banality of it all—the man smiling politely at you at the bakery, only to rape your comatose body at night.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Two people were killed at a funeral repast on Detroit's east side in late February.—
Terell Bailey,
CBS News,
7 Mar. 2026
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Authorities will announce the funeral procession at a later date.—
Lee Ying Shan,Anniek Bao,Victor Loh,
CNBC,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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MacFarlane is also said to have faced personal threats from MAGA supporters unhappy with his coverage of the Justice Department.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
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Earlier this season, Marchment struggled mightily — and seemed plenty unhappy — with the Seattle Kraken, but his trade to the Blue Jackets in late December revitalized his season.—
Harman Dayal,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Of course, the notes turn out to mostly be about her as well as the principal (played by Gosling), detailing their most pathetic behaviors.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
8 Mar. 2026
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The pathetic leaks didn’t work.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Also up for sale is a 13-page affidavit filed by Paul McCartney in December 1970 to break up The Beatles, leaving fans heartbroken.—
Adam Reiss,
NBC news,
11 Mar. 2026
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An 83-year-old Air Force veteran pushed onto the subway tracks by a stranger at an Upper East Side station in a random act of violence is unlikely to survive, his heartbroken daughter told the Daily News Tuesday.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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El Teniente's general manager, Claudio Sougarret, recently said production will be depressed for the next five years as a result of the accident.—
Sawdah Bhaimiya,
CNBC,
10 Mar. 2026
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Minnelli writes that Garland would remain in bed for days, depressed and heavily drugged.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mournful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mournful. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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