dolorous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of dolorous
1375–1425; Middle English dolorous, dolerous < Anglo-French, Old French; see dolor, -ous
Explanation
Dolorous is not a woman's name (that's Dolores), it is an adjective that describes someone showing great sadness. If your friend Dolores is crying about a lost puppy, you could call her dolorous Dolores. Music written in a minor key can have a dolorous effect. It sounds really sad, and can make you feel the same way. Dolorous shares the same root with the word, condolence, an expression of sympathy with someone's sadness. Both of these words come from the Latin word for grief, dolor, which in current Spanish happens to mean pain.
Vocabulary lists containing dolorous
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards
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A Tale of Two Cities
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tormund, Dolorous Edd, and Beric Dondarrion are at House Umber’s keep, Last Hearth, where they walk into something out of a Satanic ritual put on by a bunch of bored suburban kids gone wrong.
From The Verge • Apr. 15, 2019
To our relief Bran Stark and Meera Reed finally make it south of the Wall, granted passage by Dolorous Edd.
From Salon • Jul. 17, 2017
Dolorous Edd No one is more surprised by his own survival than Dolorous Edd.
From The Guardian • Jun. 28, 2016
Either it doesn’t or Jon didn’t care, handing over the feathery cloak of leadership to Dolorous Edd after putting his killers to the rope.
From New York Times • May 8, 2016
Dolorous Edd went before him with a torch.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
