dolor

American  

[doh-ler] / ˈdoʊ lər /

especially British, dolour

noun

• dolors
  plural

1. sorrow; grief.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dolors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dolor

1275–1325; Middle English dolour (< Anglo-French ) < Latin dolor, equivalent to dol ( ēre ) to feel pain + -or -or ¹

Explanation

If you need a poetic way to say "sorrow," use the word dolor. Your sad-eyed dog might express a great deal of dolor when you leave him alone for the day. You can use dolor to talk about heartache or sadness, like the dolor of guests at a funeral or a winter sky's gray dolor as the days get shorter. No matter how you use the noun dolor, it's going to have a poetic sound to it. It's more common to come across the adjective dolorous, or "full of sorrow." In Latin, dolor means "pain or grief."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dolor dolors

With the end in sight the connection between Evans' Endeavour Morse and Thaw's feels closer than ever, previewed in a few surreptitiously placed lines of dialogue and the detective's amplified dolor.

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2022

For me the great shame and dolor of our times is the story of immigrant children.

From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2021

This is why the butt dial hits us where it hurts, triggering embarrassment that grades into a deeper existential dolor.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 5, 2019

Having spent three seasons struggling with its own dolor, “The Leftovers” was always interesting, in the worst, most nebulous sense of the word.

From Washington Post ● May 17, 2018

The little girl ghost, Bahar, dripping with river water and dolor, told her solemnly, “Sarai can’t play right now,” which sent a chill up her spine.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

“All elements in this rainbow program,” Crowther wrote, “are carefully contrived and guaranteed to lift the dolors of winter and put you in a buttercup mood.”

From New York Times ● Aug. 30, 2021

But Joan’s story line kept getting pushed aside by the dolors of Pete, Roger and others.

From New York Times ● Jun. 24, 2013

And Tarkovsky is happy to display them in their dolors, at his pace, with all the spare majesty of his style.

From Time Magazine Archive

What are the seven dolors of the Blessed Virgin?

From Baltimore Catechism, No. 3 by Anonymous

Besides, there is no part of us proof against fire, sword, teeth, or scourges, or insensible of dolors and aches; yea, heats, colds, and fevers sink into all our parts alike.

From Complete Works of Plutarch — Volume 3: Essays and Miscellanies by Plutarch