dolorous

[dol-er-uhs, doh-ler-]

adjective

1. full of, expressing, or causing pain or sorrow; grievous; mournful.

   a dolorous melody; dolorous news.

dolorous

/ ˈdɒlərəs /

adjective

1. causing or involving pain or sorrow

Other Word Forms

• dolorously adverb
• dolorousness noun
• undolorous adjective
• undolorously adverb
• undolorousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dolorous¹

1375–1425; Middle English dolorous, dolerous < Anglo-French, Old French; dolor, -ous

Example Sentences

His Mexican fans, known as Manoletistas, wore lapel pins of his face — his “elongated, dolorous profile,” as one reporter described it.

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The rooms, though now mostly empty, remain redolent of family gatherings across the decades; most still contain their original wallpaper, dolorously faded and peeling, and tile or terrazzo floors.

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“Is it inflating the symphony of the lovable Belgian,” Gilman wondered in the New York Herald Tribune, “to rank it above the dolorous swan song of Tchaikovsky?”

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Preliminary data suggests that that dolorous trend continued at least into the first months of 2021.

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Still, few poems are more famous than “The Raven” with its dolorous tocsin, “Nevermore.”

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