MOURNFUL Synonyms: 239 Similar and Opposite Words

mournful

adjective

ˈmȯrn-fəl

Definition of mournful next

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

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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as in depressing

causing unhappiness the mournful death of a beloved entertainer

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of mournful Over the years, humpback whale songs have been recorded for human listening, with many describing the songs as having a haunting, mournful quality. —

Patrick Whittle, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2026 Humpback whales, which can weigh more than 55,000 pounds, are the ocean's most renowned singers, capable of complex vocalizations that can sound ethereal or even mournful. —

CBS News, 16 Mar. 2026 Rather than being a mournful movie about dying, Benna’s film pinpoints how to live and find joy and tears out of a terminal situation. —

Randy Myers, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026 Such memories flowed freely this week on social media and in mournful first-person essays. —

Dan Adler, Vanity Fair, 6 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mournful

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mournful

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