1
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
adopted a sorrowful tone of voice to read the news story about the former governor's death
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
feeling unhappiness
the cult seemed to be a sorrowful assemblage of emotionally scarred people seeking love and redemption
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sorrowful
With its family friction and its outsiders’ view of a fast-growing city in a young, postwar country, Shame and Money casts a piercing, sorrowful gaze at the ground-level effects of globalization.
—
Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 30 Jan. 2026
Amazon Prime offers a wide selection of sad movies, catering to various tastes, from sorrowful classics like Bicycle Thieves (1948) to heartbreaking modern dramas like Till (2022), each guaranteed to get your tear ducts working overtime.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
After evening fell, a somber, sorrowful crowd in the hundreds kept a vigil by the memorial.
—Jack Brook, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
After evening fell, a somber, sorrowful crowd in the hundreds kept a vigil by the memorial.
—Jack Brook, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sorrowful
Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 30 Jan. 2026
Amazon Prime offers a wide selection of sad movies, catering to various tastes, from sorrowful classics like Bicycle Thieves (1948) to heartbreaking modern dramas like Till (2022), each guaranteed to get your tear ducts working overtime.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
After evening fell, a somber, sorrowful crowd in the hundreds kept a vigil by the memorial.
—Jack Brook, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
After evening fell, a somber, sorrowful crowd in the hundreds kept a vigil by the memorial.
—Jack Brook, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sorrowful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sorrowful
Adjective
-
His face, always stationed somewhere halfway to hangdog, seems to gain 20 new creases carved deep into his skin, accentuating his mournful eyes and his excruciated, heartbroken smile.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Her music choices, mournful and dreamy, also add a sense of significance.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The sad but realistic turns in their lives are engrossing, as is their slow convergence.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2026
-
While Vosk’s sassier Cee Cee holds her own in the churn, Barrett, also a fine singer but trapped in the straight-and-narrow part (with sadder wigs), gets swept out to sea.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2026
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
-
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
-
Fast-forward to the April 7 special election brought to a ballot by residents unhappy with the changes.—
John Aguilar,
Denver Post,
19 Apr. 2026
-
One of them, Amy, a blond child with limp ponytails and a thin dress that looks like it might have been stained, stands outside a porch door, her fists balled up, mouth open, angry or unhappy or both.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Based on the 1995 novel by Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic follows the witchy women of the Owens’ family, whose heartbroken ancestor cursed their bloodline so that any man who falls in love with an Owens woman dies a tragic death.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
22 Apr. 2026
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Instead, Janai Norman — the warm, radiant presence who had become the heart of weekend Good Morning America — said goodbye through a tearful Instagram video on April 3 that left loyal viewers blindsided and heartbroken.—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The father, Jagdish, told me that one of his children was vomiting and the other had bloody stools; both were depressed.—
Sarah Stillman,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
So why are young Americans so depressed about their economic future?—
Idrees Kahloon,
The Atlantic,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
One of the most famous artists in the world, Anselm Kiefer, installed a funeral pyre of nearly 300 of his works at Marian Goodman on West 57th Street, one of the more prestigious galleries at the time.—
Jerry Saltz,
Vulture,
20 Apr. 2026
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This fascinating doc explores the dilemma now facing the funeral industry and the many inventive solutions being pioneered.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Murray made three throws in the first quarter to keep the Nuggets tethered after a miserable 6-for-22 effort from the field.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
19 Apr. 2026
-
And that is exactly what the season proved to be for the third-year forward, a growth curve after a miserable sophomore season.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sorrowful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sorrowful. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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