1
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
a doleful expression on their faces as they said good-bye to the friends they had made over the summer
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
feeling unhappiness
the visibly doleful players, heartbroken about their loss
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of doleful
But those doleful practical consequences are all around us.
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Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review, 25 June 2024
In a doleful irony, his digital rerecording of the piece, taken at a more stately tempo and with other changes, would be the last Gould album released by Columbia before his untimely death at age 50 in 1982.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
With his bulldog build and his doleful countenance, Mr. Young amassed more than 160 film and television credits.
—Alex Williams, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2023
The elderly sage was cast as a doleful penitent, making up for youthful indiscretions.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
See all Example Sentences for doleful 
Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review, 25 June 2024
In a doleful irony, his digital rerecording of the piece, taken at a more stately tempo and with other changes, would be the last Gould album released by Columbia before his untimely death at age 50 in 1982.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
With his bulldog build and his doleful countenance, Mr. Young amassed more than 160 film and television credits.
—Alex Williams, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2023
The elderly sage was cast as a doleful penitent, making up for youthful indiscretions.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
See all Example Sentences for doleful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doleful
Adjective
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Very few directors working today can put across a movie like Gladiator II as convincingly, which perhaps explains why the sequel — for all its barbaric violence and the plaintive, at times stirring, discussions about justice and democracy — doesn’t have the mournful quality that the first film did.Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
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Russell Crowe beating people to death in a soulful, mournful way?Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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After a few training montages and a brief interview with facility manager Didi (Stephanie Beatriz), Charles moves into Pacific View to begin the process of meeting the staff and fellow residents, who are variously enthusiastic and sad, bored and over-programmed, lonely and horny.Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2024
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Last year, Ficklin was feeling a little sad and anxious about moving out of her family’s home of 23 years.Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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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
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
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The answer is that immigrants and minorities, particularly working-class ones, are unhappy with the economy and much else.Basel Touchan, TIME, 22 Nov. 2024
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The measures come as a cost-of-living crisis has left voters unhappy with Trudeau and ahead of an election that could come anytime between this fall and next October.Rob Gillies, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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A little over a year later, Dallas County struck a similar deal, with one major difference: While Tarrant County families who couldn’t afford to make funeral arrangements were given an option to donate their relatives’ bodies to the center, Dallas County gave survivors no choice.Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 16 Sep. 2024
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The deceased who are buried at the site would likely have been burnt on funeral pyres.Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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As Christina, the youngest of a trio of sisters, Olsen spends the film playing mediator between Natasha Lyonne’s depressed stoner, Rachel, and Carrie Coon’s domineering control freak, Katie.Rachel Handler, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
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Some staffers pretended to call on behalf of a depressed relative.Max Blau, ProPublica, 14 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Monét began her tweet with five heartbroken emojis.Anna Chan, Billboard, 4 Nov. 2024
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Animal lovers have been left heartbroken by a dog who has already been adopted and returned to the shelter twice in her young life.David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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However, from the research, one vacation made all the difference between being happy and miserable.Wes Moss, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
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However, their infatuation eventually blurs the lines between fantasy and their miserable realities, inviting new horrors to seep in.Keith Staskiewicz, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near doleful
Cite this Entry
“Doleful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doleful. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
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