1
as in emotional
given to expressing strong emotion (as sorrow) by readily shedding tears
a tearful woman who can be counted on to cry at every wedding, anniversary, and funeral
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
causing unhappiness
the tearful end to what had once been a close friendship
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tearful
Suarez is a Barca icon thanks to his exploits over a six-year period that ran from 2014 until a tearful exit in 2020.
—
Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
After Anthony Starr and Erin Moriarty, stars of The Boys, announce Scott as a winner, the flummoxed star rattles off a bunch of thanks (including one for Sarandos) and then closes with a tearful thanks for Sal.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 7 May 2025
Joe played it, hearing his tearful wife speak of how the Vines mess dredged up, yet again, so much of the pain of losing their son.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 27 Apr. 2025
On May 10, 2008, country music legend Randy Travis inducted a tearful Underwood into the famed Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
—Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tearful
Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
After Anthony Starr and Erin Moriarty, stars of The Boys, announce Scott as a winner, the flummoxed star rattles off a bunch of thanks (including one for Sarandos) and then closes with a tearful thanks for Sal.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 7 May 2025
Joe played it, hearing his tearful wife speak of how the Vines mess dredged up, yet again, so much of the pain of losing their son.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 27 Apr. 2025
On May 10, 2008, country music legend Randy Travis inducted a tearful Underwood into the famed Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
—Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tearful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tearful
Adjective
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What To Know Dixon, who has lived in the U.S. for 50 years after arriving from the Philippines at age 14, was emotional following her release.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 May 2025
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Doyle, dressed in a black suit, looked emotional as he was brought into the courtroom from his cell, according to a PA Media reporter following proceedings.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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My back hurt from that sad excuse for a chair (seriously, who designs dining chairs to feel like medieval torture devices?).—
Renae Gregoire,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
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Stewart is still thanked by gay fans by creating such a rare, highly visible (albeit sad) representation.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
27 May 2025
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
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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
-
The mortality rates of small indie presses and literary journals are a depressing feature of our cultural landscape.—
Michael Washburn,
National Review,
25 May 2025
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Despite there being ample intrigue and mystery around what happened to Peter's first wife, the truth is pretty depressing.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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What with weakened teams and consistently pathetic performances, their league form on both their parts has been pathetic enough to be termed a dereliction of duty.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
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Take yesterday’s left hook out of nowhere by President Donald Trump, bragging about doing something that would bust even this pathetic budget.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
21 May 2025
Adjective
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The Argentinean goalkeeper was teary, suggesting there might be some legitimacy to the speculation linking him with a summer switch to Saudi Arabia.—
Graham Ruthven,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
-
Right-hander German Marquez, who broke out of a slump to pitch the Rockies to a win on Sunday, was teary when talking about Black.—
Patrick Saunders,
Chicago Tribune,
12 May 2025
Adjective
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The slow, mournful piano chords capture the somber bite of the scene with remarkable punch yet also a sobering stillness, and that’s before the elegiac words carry the song off into the sky.—
Daniel Dylan Wray,
Pitchfork,
8 May 2025
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Wynette’s mournful lyrics about a partner who has left—will one protagonist leave the other during the game’s main campaign?—to the sound of lonely, sad acoustic country music is the flip side of Wang Chung’s carefree spirit.—
Brady Gerber,
Vulture,
7 May 2025
Adjective
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Comment At the end of the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Richard Strauss’s Salome, the soprano Elza van den Heever stayed onstage to accept the uproarious ovations with a weepy smile and a grateful tap on her heart.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
30 Apr. 2025
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Novelist Kazuo Ishiguro’s weepy cloning love-triangle story turned out to be apt source material for his friend Garland to adapt.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
11 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tearful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tearful. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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