SORROWFUL Synonyms: 202 Similar and Opposite Words

sorrowful

adjective

ˈsär-(ˌ)ō-fəl

Definition of sorrowful

as in mournful

expressing or suggesting mourning adopted a sorrowful tone of voice to read the news story about the former governor's death

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sad

feeling unhappiness the cult seemed to be a sorrowful assemblage of emotionally scarred people seeking love and redemption

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 sorrowful Although Ashura is the day when the mourning reaches its culmination, Muharram has come to mean the collection of observances during this sacred and sorrowful time at the start of the year. — Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 May 2026 But ultimately, what should fans take from the moving yet sorrowful final chapter, which is punctuated with a glimmer of hope and possibly the breath of life for its central characters? — Hunter Ingram, Variety, 15 May 2026 This sorrowful handwaving is taken as a sufficient explanation. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 May 2026 The best power-pop thrives on the simmering tension between joyous jangle and sorrowful sentiment, and Presley imbues Orange’s songs with a palpable sense of shame and regret that makes even its most ebullient tracks feel heavy. — Stuart Berman, Pitchfork, 29 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sorrowful

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sorrowful

Adjective

The years have only intensified Zimmerman’s mournful, hushed vocal performance, and Dream Me a Dream often plays out like a bedtime story spun by a beloved elder, accompanied by soft strings, shakers, and even a synth or two.

— Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 19 June 2026
The drama can stir up nostalgia and mournful emotions, and feels personal to many.

— Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 3 June 2026

Definition of mournful

Adjective

Now, Star is reporting that Blake Lively is trying not to be bitter about not being invited, but the snub has left her very sad.

— Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 8 July 2026
No living sister or Mother to administer relief in that hour the most sad in the history of humanity.

— Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026

Definition of sad

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

Definition of weeping

Adjective

Last year, researchers at Harvard University and Baylor University discovered that, on average, young adults aged between 18 to 29 are deeply unhappy.

— Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 July 2026
Licensed cannabis operators in states that have legalized marijuana tend to support the ban—they’re unhappy that hemp intoxicants face far less regulation and taxation than their products.

— Peter Su, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

Definition of unhappy

Adjective

The pseudonymous title character, a depressed, drunken, belligerent twenty-six-year-old advice columnist, has no real hardships of his own and is cursed by doubt.

— Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 1 July 2026
Supergirl is a story about a depressed, super-powered woman who is pulled out of her bar-hopping to help other people and find her purpose.

— Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 30 June 2026

Definition of depressed

Adjective

When Khomeini’s coffin began moving in a convoy, mourners surged towards it, causing a crowd crush and forcing the funeral procession to be abandoned, according to ISNA.

— Xiaoqian Lin, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
Amid the inextricable trauma of losing her 18-year-old child, the mother had feared that traditional funeral customs might be handled differently because of the manner in which her daughter died.

— Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026

Definition of funeral

Adjective

Their findings, some previously covered in Fortune, draw on a deep dataset spanning dozens of countries to confirm that ill-being is no longer hump-shaped in age — the young are now the most miserable cohort globally.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 6 July 2026
Aguirre’s red card against West Germany in 1986 started a miserable run for Mexico.

— Colin Millar, New York Times, 4 July 2026

Definition of miserable

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sorrow (for)

sorrowful

sorrowfully

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“Sorrowful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sorrowful. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of sorrowful

adjective

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