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
This is a love story, after all, and one with a keen grasp of the mournful, curious glances between its two leads — of how much goes untranslated between them, and how much is conveyed.
—
Sheri Linden, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
In a circular frame at the center of the screen, still images and footage of the deceased played over the swelling, mournful music in a static shot anchoring the four-and-a-half-minute segment, which was capped off by a final photograph of Hackman.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2025
The mournful footnote to Hollywood or Bust is that off-set, the friendship between Martin and Lewis had already broken down irrevocably.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 19 Mar. 2025
Definitely — but there’s a mournful resonance to that in a play where characters reach out so desperately and remain so trapped within themselves.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mournful
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Sheri Linden, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
In a circular frame at the center of the screen, still images and footage of the deceased played over the swelling, mournful music in a static shot anchoring the four-and-a-half-minute segment, which was capped off by a final photograph of Hackman.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2025
The mournful footnote to Hollywood or Bust is that off-set, the friendship between Martin and Lewis had already broken down irrevocably.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 19 Mar. 2025
Definitely — but there’s a mournful resonance to that in a play where characters reach out so desperately and remain so trapped within themselves.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Mar. 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 8 Apr. 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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