doleful
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of doleful
First recorded in 1225–75, doleful is from the Middle English word dol-ful. See dole 2, -ful
Explanation
To be doleful is to be down in the dumps, to have a hole in your soul, to be full of woe. Doleful has nothing to do with a doe, a deer or a female deer. Unless one of those animals has a really sad look in its eyes. Expressions can be doleful, ditto a song or a set of circumstances. You can use the adjective doleful to describe something that is bringing you down, that makes you want to give into gravity or crawl into bed. Doleful is pretty much the opposite of how a ray of golden sun can make you feel.
Vocabulary lists containing doleful
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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"The Lady, or the Tiger?" by Frank R. Stockton
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"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards
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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.
A version of this review appears in print on March 21, 2014, on page C4 of the with the headline: Still Doleful, Still Impulsive.
From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2014
Visual Editions Doleful predictions of the death of the book have been uttered every time a new medium has emerged, from radio onward.
From New York Times • Oct. 24, 2010
Doleful Comedian Pat Paulsen joins Singer Glen Campbell in a song-and-comedy hour in which the Brothers themselves appear as guests along with Nancy Sinatra and Joey Bishop.
From Time Magazine Archive
Lil Thin Dyme" or "Doleful Dogie," Sample line: "Ole Taxes Drainger, he done rode me down ... he done mowed me, and he done throwed me down.
From Time Magazine Archive
In a letter to Leah, Kate begged to leave Castle Doleful and return to Rochester.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
