mournful
Americanadjective
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feeling or expressing sorrow or grief; sorrowful; sad.
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of or relating to mourning for the dead.
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causing grief or lament.
a mournful occasion.
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gloomy, somber, or dreary, as in appearance or character.
mournful shadows.
adjective
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evoking grief; sorrowful
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gloomy; sad
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mournful
First recorded in 1375–1425, mournful is from the late Middle English word morneful. See mourn, -ful
Explanation
A mournful person is someone who is full of sorrow, like a little girl who has just lost her new puppy. Mournful is a word that is often associated with someone who has experienced the death of someone close to them. A person would feel mournful if their loved one had just died. Mournful can also describe the expression of sad feelings, like a person dressed in black and sobbing into a handkerchief. You would not be mournful if you had just failed a quiz, but you would be mournful if your twenty-year marriage had just failed.
Vocabulary lists containing mournful
List 4
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"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling
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Chains
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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.
Mournful yet exuberant, “La Chimera” is a towering work of art presented with the unassuming invitation of a warming summer morning.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2024
Mournful family and friends packed the courtroom for the trial.
From Seattle Times • May 29, 2023
Mournful sirens replaced the usual bustle and din.
From Scientific American • Feb. 23, 2022
At age 15, she won an Emmy for Best Actress in the TV film "Tell Me Not in Mournful Numbers."
From Fox News • Jul. 18, 2021
Mournful as was this last sight of her, and touched with remorse, he could yet bear it away in his heart for long remembrance not untempered by consolation.
From Sister Dolorosa and Posthumous Fame by Allen, James Lane
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.
