1
as in weeping
expressing or suggesting mourning
she had such a mournful expression that someone teasingly asked if her dog had died
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
feeling unhappiness
the mournful survivors of the disaster were faced with the grim task of burying the dead
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3
as in depressing
causing unhappiness
the mournful death of a beloved entertainer
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mournful
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
Outwardly glassy but mournful on the inside, the film is a fairly overt expression of grief — one that’s even more acute coming out just a year after 9/11.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mournful
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
Outwardly glassy but mournful on the inside, the film is a fairly overt expression of grief — one that’s even more acute coming out just a year after 9/11.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mournful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mournful
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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Family members and two of his lawyers say he was diagnosed with severe PTSD, a sad and rapid fall that ended in another explosion of violence.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
16 Mar. 2025
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Their eggs failed to hatch in 2023 and 2024, leaving many internet followers sad.—
Amanda Kooser,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Still, overall traffic expectations in Meridian are basically pretty depressing.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
12 Mar. 2025
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Depending on your point of view, either the depressing vibes outweigh the gorgeous animation or the gorgeous animation outweighs the depressing vibes.—
Jeremy Fassler,
Vulture,
2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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For the certification, Senate pages carried the Electoral College ballot boxes through the rotunda like caskets in a funeral procession.—
Antonia Hitchens,
The New Yorker,
21 Jan. 2025
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Now the family is grappling with funeral arrangements for the young woman.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Rather than panic, consider that software developers are pretty unhappy with the status quo.—
Steve Rodda,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
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Recent polling also suggests that Americans are relatively unhappy with DOGE’s efforts.—
Filip Timotija,
The Hill,
15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Michael Gandolfini pops up as a slimy Fisk mayoral staffer who wouldn’t look out of place in this magazine’s recent cover featuring the new young right, and his playing both pathetic and vaguely sympathetic is very fun to watch.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
4 Mar. 2025
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How to decide which of these pathetic characters will get his fading masculinity restored?—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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But in a confessional, Stacey weeps while sympathizing with her heartbroken friend.—
Abigail Adams,
People.com,
14 Mar. 2025
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Meanwhile, Long Live Curt, a tribute to a close friend who died, could fit on a DJ set with the heartbroken singalongs of fellow Floridians like St. Petersburg’s Rod Wave and Jacksonville’s Lil Poppa.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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An exception is oil and gas executives, some of whom are buying while their shares are depressed.—
John Dorfman,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
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The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Wood became depressed and died by suicide less than a year after the incident.—
Newsweek,
Newsweek,
10 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mournful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mournful. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
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