1
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
a doleful expression on their faces as they said good-bye to the friends they had made over the summer
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
feeling unhappiness
the visibly doleful players, heartbroken about their loss
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of doleful
Where the Sea Change version sounds doleful, the new orchestration sounded almost hopeful with strings that glide over the chords and a perky piccolo poking through the musical ceiling.
—
Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2024
The record’s doleful orchestral compositions feature contributions from Ishibashi’s longtime musical partner Jim O’Rourke.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 June 2024
But those doleful practical consequences are all around us.
—Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review, 25 June 2024
In a doleful irony, his digital rerecording of the piece, taken at a more stately tempo and with other changes, would be the last Gould album released by Columbia before his untimely death at age 50 in 1982.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for doleful
Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2024
The record’s doleful orchestral compositions feature contributions from Ishibashi’s longtime musical partner Jim O’Rourke.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 June 2024
But those doleful practical consequences are all around us.
—Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review, 25 June 2024
In a doleful irony, his digital rerecording of the piece, taken at a more stately tempo and with other changes, would be the last Gould album released by Columbia before his untimely death at age 50 in 1982.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for doleful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doleful
Adjective
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Brown’s sound design mixes Sousa-like military fanfares with mournful underscoring for Lavinia’s tragedy, neither of which has much to do with Kidwell’s preshow music.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Feb. 2025
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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
Adjective
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Police sad officers began providing aid to Mitchell, but medics later pronounced him dead at the scene.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacramento Bee,
4 Mar. 2025
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Oklahoma represents the sad conclusion of the Trail of Tears, and Tulsa serves as the meeting point for tribal nations—the Osage, Muscogee, and Cherokee.—
Nicholas Lalla,
WIRED,
4 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
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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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Some are unhappy with the people executing his vision for a smaller government. 2️⃣ Soccer showcase: The 2026 World Cup is still more than a year away, but there are already big concerns over whether the host country is ready.—
Daniel Wine,
CNN,
6 Mar. 2025
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The Penguins listed Bunting as a healthy scratch early this season because coaches were unhappy with his effort in games and practices.—
Josh Yohe,
The Athletic,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Their son Donny attended to all of the funeral arrangements with the help of his wife Jan, a nurse, and his daughters Andrea and Alicia.—
Phil Potempa,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Mass layoffs in the Beltway could force some residents to put their homes up for sale at depressed values, denting the real estate market.—
Matt Egan and Alicia Wallace,
CNN,
25 Feb. 2025
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Examples include formerly depressed but now vibrant cities, such as Pittsburgh, and once stagnant but now relatively successful developing countries, such as Bangladesh and Rwanda.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The record for the shortest Oscar-winning performance goes to Beatrice Straight, who played the heartbroken wife of a philandering TV station president in Sidney Lumet’s 1976 film Network.—
Jordan Runtagh,
People.com,
2 Mar. 2025
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Listen to this article Skokie restaurateurs were left heartbroken on Valentine’s Day when a broken water main disaster in northeastern Skokie left the village without drinkable tap water from Feb. 14 through 16.—
Richard Requena,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Its economic position is parlous, its demographic situation is miserable and its military capacities have atrophied, and most of the chest-thumping about a revival of European power is empty talk and fantasy politics.—
Ross Douthat,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
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But running — the exercise that can happen almost anywhere, any time and for very little expense — always felt miserable.—
Madeline Holcombe,
CNN,
2 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Doleful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doleful. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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