1
: expressing sorrow : sorrowful
2
: full of sorrow : sad
3
: causing sorrow or melancholy : gloomy
mournfulness
noun
Examples of mournful in a Sentence
she had such a mournful expression that someone teasingly asked if her dog had died
the mournful survivors of the disaster were faced with the grim task of burying the dead
Recent Examples on the Web
Brown’s sound design mixes Sousa-like military fanfares with mournful underscoring for Lavinia’s tragedy, neither of which has much to do with Kidwell’s preshow music.
—
Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025
Chaos quickly unfolds when the bickering, different-strokes twins find the calamitous heirloom—although Perkins keeps the first act mostly mournful, as the boys struggle with the onslaught of death around them.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 21 Feb. 2025
Krauss’s ethereal voice is as haunting as ever on this mournful ballad, where doleful lyrics look back on a time marked by regret and deceit, and get elevated by the elegant interplay between Krauss’ voice and Jerry Douglas’s soul-piercing steel guitar.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 3 Feb. 2025
The Academy correctly realized a resilient and celebratory mood post-wildfires would make for better TV than a mournful one.
—Justin Curto, Vulture, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mournful
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Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025
Chaos quickly unfolds when the bickering, different-strokes twins find the calamitous heirloom—although Perkins keeps the first act mostly mournful, as the boys struggle with the onslaught of death around them.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 21 Feb. 2025
Krauss’s ethereal voice is as haunting as ever on this mournful ballad, where doleful lyrics look back on a time marked by regret and deceit, and get elevated by the elegant interplay between Krauss’ voice and Jerry Douglas’s soul-piercing steel guitar.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 3 Feb. 2025
The Academy correctly realized a resilient and celebratory mood post-wildfires would make for better TV than a mournful one.
—Justin Curto, Vulture, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mournful
Cite this Entry
“Mournful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mournful. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mournful
adjective
mourn·ful
ˈmō(ə)rn-fəl 
ˈmȯ(ə)rn-
1
: expressing or full of sorrow : sorrowful
a mournful face
2
: causing sorrow
a mournful story
mournfulness
noun
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