doleful

[ dohl-fuhl ]

/ ˈdoʊl fəl /

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See synonyms for: doleful / dolefully / dolefulness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

sorrowful; mournful; melancholy: a doleful look on her face.

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Origin of doleful

First recorded in 1225–75, doleful is from the Middle English word dol-ful.See dole², -ful

OTHER WORDS FROM doleful

dole·ful·ly, adverbdole·ful·ness, noun

Words nearby doleful

dolce vita, doldrums, dole, dole bludger, dole cupboard, doleful, dolente, dolerite, dolesome, Dolgellau, dolicho-

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use doleful in a sentence

They were a little wet and doleful looking, but llamas were bred to withstand the brutal weather of the Andes.
Want to Travel in the Backcountry with Small Children? Rent a Llama.|lwhelan|September 17, 2021|Outside Online
Fox News called him a “doleful hound,” while the Washington Post preferred the less stylized, “slightly befuddled-looking.”
The Taliban Trolled the Internet with a Dog Video and Upstaged an American POW|Brian Van Reet|February 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is an even more doleful cultural signifier in all this: the mess that invariably follows the big announcement.
What’s Behind the Obamacare Cock-Up|Tina Brown|October 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Hollande basically tried to remain above the fray and reinforced his already doleful image as an ineffectual executive.
Roma Immigrants Have Set France on Edge|Christopher Dickey, Alice Guilhamon|October 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Their garb lent them either the gravitas the Republican bench has previously lacked, or the doleful aspect of ushers at a funeral.
Huckabee Grills GOP Candidates in Republican Presidential Forum|Lloyd Grove|December 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
But the business of most of them that fared this way whose faring has been preserved was of a very doleful character.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries|Charles G. Harper
When his disciple had finished the solemn and doleful phrase, he smiled while looking round.
Balsamo, The Magician|Alexander Dumas
Some of the animals suffered so with thirst that they could not graze, and uttered doleful whinneys of distress.
Overland|John William De Forest
Perhaps it was this doleful, ominous sound more than anything else that somehow took the enthusiasm out of them.
The Rival Campers Afloat|Ruel Perley Smith
And no wonder, for of all the doleful too-tooings ever uttered by wind instrument, this was the dolefullest.
Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks|Bracebridge Hemyng

British Dictionary definitions for doleful

doleful

/ (ˈdəʊlfʊl) /

adjective

dreary; mournfulArchaic word: dolesome (ˈdəʊlsəm)

Derived forms of doleful

dolefully, adverbdolefulness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

doleful

Origin of doleful

OTHER WORDS FROM doleful

Words nearby doleful

Words related to doleful

How to use doleful in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for doleful

Derived forms of doleful