1
as in weeping
expressing or suggesting mourning
she had such a mournful expression that someone teasingly asked if her dog had died
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in depressing
causing unhappiness
the mournful death of a beloved entertainer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Ortega’s deadpan remains impeccable and her mournful gaze allows for viewer projection that goes beyond anything on the page, but Wednesday too often comes across as a piece of an ensemble at this point.
—
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025
Soon she’s caught up in a supernatural murder mystery involving fatally beaky crows; dealing with an obsessive, disturbingly round-eyed fan (Evie Templeton); and bickering with mother Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones, who tends to strike a quiet note that seems almost genuinely mournful).
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 6 Aug. 2025
The mournful notes of taps echoed through rainy Bronx neighborhood Thursday afternoon as six New York Police Department officers shouldered the casket of one of their own: Officer Didarul Islam.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 31 July 2025
Rarely an exuberant spirit as a filmmaker, Edwards here directs a rather mournful script by veteran pro David Koepp, the primary adapting writer on the ‘93 franchise-starter.
—Chicago Tribune, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for mournful
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025
Soon she’s caught up in a supernatural murder mystery involving fatally beaky crows; dealing with an obsessive, disturbingly round-eyed fan (Evie Templeton); and bickering with mother Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones, who tends to strike a quiet note that seems almost genuinely mournful).
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 6 Aug. 2025
The mournful notes of taps echoed through rainy Bronx neighborhood Thursday afternoon as six New York Police Department officers shouldered the casket of one of their own: Officer Didarul Islam.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 31 July 2025
Rarely an exuberant spirit as a filmmaker, Edwards here directs a rather mournful script by veteran pro David Koepp, the primary adapting writer on the ‘93 franchise-starter.
—Chicago Tribune, 2 July 2025
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
Adjective
-
This one is trickier and sadder to think about.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Composite image created by Newsweek shows two older people looking worried and a piggy bank with a sad face on its side.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
His relentless prepackaged positivity — even in the wake of depressing game day results — turned him into something of a punch line.—
Ian O'Connor,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The depressing effect of the seasonality is somewhat offset by the ‘5’ effect.—
Bill Sarubbi,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Her family is raising money to cover funeral expenses.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Following the boy’s death, donors raised about $30,000 in a GoFundMe campaign launched to help with funeral expenses.—
Christy Gutowski,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
My research team works hard to keep the email addresses up to date, but executives keep changing their addresses to avoid having to deal with unhappy customers.—
Christopher Elliott,
Mercury News,
10 Sep. 2025
-
But few seemed to leave unhappy.—
Jonathan Hawkins,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The end of that era came slowly, through the pathetic collapse of Syria and Lebanon as functioning states, and then quickly, when Israel began touching Hezbollah in unexpected places.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Want the poop on this pathetic history?—
Brian Domitrovic,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
And utterly heartbroken for Charlie’s young family.—
Amanda Castro
Gabe Whisnant
Anna Commander
Toby Meyjes
Shane Croucher
John Feng
Joshua Rhett Miller,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The woman noted that canceling the shower has left her heartbroken.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Unemployment has stayed relatively low in part because of dampened demand for workers as well as a depressed supply (people aging out of the workforce as well as reductions in immigrant workers).—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
6 Sep. 2025
-
This time producer Brad Ingelsby tapped Mark Ruffalo as a depressed and traumatized FBI agent leading a task force investigating a series of home invasions targeting drug dens in the area.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mournful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mournful. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share