as in to grieve
to feel deep sadness or mental pain
the soldier's widow continued to sorrow long after her husband's last letter had turned yellow with age
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in grief
deep sadness especially for the loss of someone or something loved
he felt great sorrow at the loss of his beloved dog
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 sorrow
Elizabeth Berry, Woman's Day, 30 Jan. 2023
As the story of SoulShine's contribution made its way onto the news and social media, people expressed appreciation for Garem and the company's creative contributions –and sorrow that the task was required.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 1 June 2022
Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025
Prefaced by a host of personal disasters—the death of her mother’s onetime partner Mary Norcross, her own hospitalization for digestive problems, her mother’s painful shingles and neuralgia—the decade of the 1940s brought sorrow.
—Susan Gubar
june 9, Literary Hub, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sorrow
Verb
Oh dearest comforter of the troubled, alleviate our worry and sorrow with your gentle love, and grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden.
—Elizabeth Berry, Woman's Day, 30 Jan. 2023
As the story of SoulShine's contribution made its way onto the news and social media, people expressed appreciation for Garem and the company's creative contributions –and sorrow that the task was required.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 1 June 2022
Noun
To date, the Facebook post about her story has garnered more than 19,000 reactions, sparking a wave of sorrow and outrage from animal lovers across the country.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025
Prefaced by a host of personal disasters—the death of her mother’s onetime partner Mary Norcross, her own hospitalization for digestive problems, her mother’s painful shingles and neuralgia—the decade of the 1940s brought sorrow.
—Susan Gubar
june 9, Literary Hub, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sorrow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sorrow
Verb
-
She’s encountered many grieving parents who lost their children to gunfire.—
Tribune News Service,
Twin Cities,
21 June 2025
-
Like the notion of never stepping into the same river twice, the protagonist in my own book, upon finally accepting that loving a river is an act of loving an ever-changing, never-graspable flow, is irrevocably changed by that painful experience and yet doesn’t have the staying power to grieve it.—
Siouxzi Connor
June 20,
Literary Hub,
20 June 2025
Noun
-
After the trial and sentencings, a noose of grief tightened around the DuFresne family.—
Mary Jane Gibson,
Rolling Stone,
29 June 2025
-
An unlikely victim Pam has been a grief counselor and a high school dean.—
Laura Trujillo,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
These lonely senior citizens arrive at a Los Angeles bungalow where Fish, newly discharged from an asylum, wrestles with an imagined demon and Poinsettia mourns a fantasy romance with composer Giacomo Puccini.—
Armond White,
National Review,
25 June 2025
-
His death at the age of 41 in 2021 was a global news story that was fueled in part by the millions who mourned him.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
23 June 2025
Noun
-
To date, Operation UNITED has resulted in 33 positive identifications of people whose disappearance had left family members in anguish.—
Michael Kaplan,
CBS News,
16 June 2025
-
Even so, the movie’s forceful visual shocks (executed mostly with practical effects) are easier to bear than its restlessly mounting anguish.—
Jeannette Catsoulis,
New York Times,
29 May 2025
Verb
-
The slides are very comfortable and give my foot enough support to not ache at the end of the day!—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
21 June 2025
-
Niamh has created a world that feels both thrillingly glamorous and emotionally raw, with characters who ache with ambition, desire, and heartbreak.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
18 June 2025
Noun
-
Featuring explosive revelations, access to online empire builders and interviews with digital powerhouses followed by hundreds of millions, the documentary pulls back the curtain on an industry built on hype, hustle and heartbreak.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
26 June 2025
-
Findings from this research point to heartbreak, following organizational greenwashing and hypocrisy, or false promises to uphold environmental values with no follow through.—
Melissa A. Wheeler,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
Verb
-
Viewers collectively sighed with relief knowing the dogs were looking up.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 June 2025
-
Before immediately snapping, sighing loudly, or muttering a passive-aggressive comment, try pausing to consider what else might be going on first: Maybe your barista’s slammed with 10 other complicated orders, for instance, or your housemate had a brutal week at work.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
17 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sorrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sorrow. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share