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sorrow

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word sorrow different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of sorrow are anguish, grief, regret, and woe. While all these words mean "distress of mind," sorrow implies a sense of loss or a sense of guilt and remorse.

a family united in sorrow upon the patriarch's death

When might anguish be a better fit than sorrow?

While in some cases nearly identical to sorrow, anguish suggests torturing grief or dread.

the anguish felt by the parents of the kidnapped child

When is it sensible to use grief instead of sorrow?

The synonyms grief and sorrow are sometimes interchangeable, but grief implies poignant sorrow for an immediate cause.

the inexpressible grief of the bereaved parents

When would regret be a good substitute for sorrow?

In some situations, the words regret and sorrow are roughly equivalent. However, regret implies pain caused by deep disappointment, fruitless longing, or unavailing remorse.

nagging regret for missed opportunities

When can woe be used instead of sorrow?

The words woe and sorrow can be used in similar contexts, but woe is deep or inconsolable grief or misery.

cries of woe echoed throughout the bombed city

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
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
  • The Ultimate Angus Philly went the way of the Dodo almost 15 years ago, and customers have been mourning the discontinuation of The Three Cheese Steak Sandwich for the better part of a decade.
    Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 23 June 2025
Noun
  • Drawing heavily from Qiu’s biography, My Father’s Son centers on an 18-year-old protagonist, Qiao, who loses his voice while attempting to deliver the eulogy at his father’s funeral and flees in anguish.
    Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 19 June 2025
  • Many of us watch in anguish as our compatriots abandon their homes, desperate for a safe haven beyond the reach of oppression and destruction.
    Nazanin Boniadi, Time, 17 June 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
  • TikTok users flooded the comments with reactions ranging from heartbreak to frustration.
    Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025
  • Fans were just as shocked as the talent by the wave and have been expressing confusion, outrage and heartbreak online.
    Mackenzie Schmidt, People.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

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Cite this Entry

“Sorrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sorrow. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

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