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
Or a tearful Villanova piccolo player soldiering through in the wake of a loss.
—
Joe Rexrode, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
In another post, Chopra shared a tearful emoji and a heart-smiling emoji over a photo of the musical's official Playbill.
—Dave Quinn, People.com, 21 Mar. 2025
Drummond ends up dead, Mark uses his tie, stained with Drummond's blood, to gain access to the room where Gemma has been ordered to disassemble a baby’s crib, and the couple have a tearful reunion and head for the exits.
—Gary Levin, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
In a night full of tearful pauses, Yates and the designer Rosanna Vize, one of the show’s four creators, also find several ways to produce a sense of farce.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tearful
Joe Rexrode, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
In another post, Chopra shared a tearful emoji and a heart-smiling emoji over a photo of the musical's official Playbill.
—Dave Quinn, People.com, 21 Mar. 2025
Drummond ends up dead, Mark uses his tie, stained with Drummond's blood, to gain access to the room where Gemma has been ordered to disassemble a baby’s crib, and the couple have a tearful reunion and head for the exits.
—Gary Levin, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
In a night full of tearful pauses, Yates and the designer Rosanna Vize, one of the show’s four creators, also find several ways to produce a sense of farce.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tearful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tearful
Adjective
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Her emotional response and (to be fair, unethical) choice to threaten the guy suggest to the viewer that Dr. Santos herself experienced a similar kind of trauma as a child.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Glamour,
10 Apr. 2025
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For Liv in particular, their idea of what that final ride on the plane was going to be was an emotional one.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Kwong grew up hearing stories of every kind about Manzanar—scary, sad, funny and infuriating.—
Rachel Ng,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Mar. 2025
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Yet, whatever the deal means for Paul, Weiss, its acquiescence to Trump marks a sad day for the legal profession—or what once was a profession, and is now just another business.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2025
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
-
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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This Sunday’s finale marks the end of a bizarre, depressing, and sometimes extremely funny show about a family like none other.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2025
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That’s been really fascinating and depressing and dispiriting to see.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Glamour,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Read more The pathetic, slow-motion downfall of Barack Obama Houseguests and fish begin to smell after three days, as the saying goes.—
Aris Folley,
The Hill,
17 Apr. 2025
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Regression was fair to expect, but man did the Canucks just look offensively pathetic most of the year.—
Dom Luszczyszyn,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
At a panel following a finale watch party here, Wood was teary, taking sips of water.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
7 Apr. 2025
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The coughing fits and teary eyes that come with that moment are why smokeless fire pits have shot to the top of so many wish lists in recent years.—
Clint Davis,
People.com,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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At the vigil, the atmosphere appeared to be both mournful and celebratory of Scooter’s life.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
4 Apr. 2025
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Season four will be the last for The Righteous Gemstones, and there are signs in this mournful (and vulgar/hilarious) episode that this extremely American empire may be going the way of Kelvin’s treehouse.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The music icon confessed to getting weepy about aging during a bonus episode of the podcast Smartless, which was released to subscribers on Tuesday, March 25 — John's 78th birthday.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
25 Mar. 2025
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Zoe Saldaña got weepy and impassioned in an acceptance speech that honored her immigrant parents as well as her Dominican heritage.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
3 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tearful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tearful. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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