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
as in sadness
a state or spell of low spirits
with a sorrowfulness that can only be described as heart-wrenching, she read the elegy
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sorrowful
Laura Vazquez, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Anderson’s depiction of this process — a clever and orderly network of seemingly anonymous people performing clandestine miracles — is one of the most stirring aspects of the film, inspiring in its testament to mutual aid while sorrowful that such things have to exist at all.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2025
While Saturn might make this period feel sorrowful, remember that dreams take commitment and time.
—Julia Gomez, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
Whereas Armah’s novel operates in the sorrowful register of existentialism, Sembène and Cissé’s films revel in the barbed parameters of comedy and trade in the comeuppance of corrupt leaders.
—Lovia Gyarkye, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sorrowful
Adjective
The judges would look embarrassed and sorrowful.
—Laura Vazquez, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Anderson’s depiction of this process — a clever and orderly network of seemingly anonymous people performing clandestine miracles — is one of the most stirring aspects of the film, inspiring in its testament to mutual aid while sorrowful that such things have to exist at all.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2025
While Saturn might make this period feel sorrowful, remember that dreams take commitment and time.
—Julia Gomez, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
Whereas Armah’s novel operates in the sorrowful register of existentialism, Sembène and Cissé’s films revel in the barbed parameters of comedy and trade in the comeuppance of corrupt leaders.
—Lovia Gyarkye, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sorrowful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sorrowful
Adjective
-
The Fitzgerald's final moments shrouded in mystery, Lightfoot's mournful song, the number of lives lost, and the size of the ship alone led her to quickly become the most famous shipwreck in Michigan.—
Sarah Moore,
Freep.com,
4 Nov. 2025
-
The zebras pranced, all frisky energy; the elephants, lumbering and mournful, trailed behind with their ancient thoughts.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Everyone's a little sad in The Holdovers, Alexander Payne's charmingly sour comedy about a student stuck at his New England boarding school over the holidays with only his grouchy professor (Paul Giamatti) and the school cook (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) for company.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The 25-year-old wide receiver is sad to see his teammates go, but trusts the vision of the New York front office.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Followers and fans of Tika online expressed their sadness in the comment section.—
Tabitha Parent,
PEOPLE,
5 Nov. 2025
-
And in the last days of August, laughter and pot would waft over the scene, happiness laced with sadness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
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
-
Pauline Collins, the exuberant British actress who inspired women — and men, too — to do something to change their unhappy lives with her Oscar-nominated and Olivier- and Tony-winning performances in Shirley Valentine, has died.—
Lisa de los Reyes,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Nov. 2025
-
That distaste didn’t hurt Spanberger and her ticket, because 18% of those unhappy voters backed her anyway.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Coppola and production designer Ziering will explore their creative partnership, the aesthetic and emotional storytelling that defines Coppola’s visual universe — from the suburban melancholy of Palo Alto to the luminous complexity of The Last Showgirl.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
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Full of dread and melancholy, the Austrian import flips the creepy-kid script a bit by centering on two boys (Elias and Lukas Schwarz) who wonder whether their mom (Susanne Wuest), whose head is wrapped in bandages after facial surgery, is actually their mom. 38.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
As the title suggests, the book details Turner's tale of a heartbroken widower who became an unlikely senior-citizen TV star on the first season of the reality show, which ended with an engagement to Nist.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Nov. 2025
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Thomas told the outlet that her brother’s diagnosis left their family heartbroken.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
During the week, Aluko had described lying in bed at the height of the controversy, depressed and unable to eat.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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Perhaps this depressed valuation is what caught the eye of Carl Icahn.—
Kenneth Squire,
CNBC,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sorrowful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sorrowful. Accessed 2 Jan. 2026.
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