dolorous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word 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
A Tale of Two Cities
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"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards
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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.
Still, few poems are more famous than “The Raven” with its dolorous tocsin, “Nevermore.”
From Washington Post ● Jun. 2, 2021
This, it is gradually transpiring, is a very characteristic Nighy interview quote, in that it is dolorous, painfully self-deprecating and makes rather heavy weather of the business of acting.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 12, 2017
Sleep-deprived and dolorous in nostalgia, I’d reverted to my old role as the gloomy one.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 22, 2016
That dolorous unity finally broke down with the appearance of Séléka, which inflicted more suffering on Central Africans than they were willing to bear.
From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2014
Willie started a low dolorous tune on his harp.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
