dolorous

[dol-er-uh s, doh-ler-]

See more synonyms for dolorous on Thesaurus.com

adjective

full of, expressing, or causing pain or sorrow; grievous; mournful: a dolorous melody; dolorous news.

Origin of dolorous

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

Related formsdol·or·ous·ly, adverbdol·or·ous·ness, nounun·dol·or·ous, adjectiveun·dol·or·ous·ly, adverbun·dol·or·ous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for dolorous

afflicted, calamitous, deplorable, dire, distressing, doleful, grievous, harrowing, lamentable, lugubrious, melancholy, mournful, painful, plaintive, regrettable, rueful, sad, sorrowful, woebegone, woeful

Examples from the Web for dolorous

Contemporary Examples of dolorous

Obama himself shows the dolorous dangers of unalloyed ideology, making transformation a higher priority than repair.
A Winning Final Four at the GOP Debate in Charleston
Michael Medved
January 20, 2012

Historical Examples of dolorous

At this Pierre could not refrain from a dolorous and vivacious interruption.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
This admission, so sincere and so dolorous to make, penetrated me.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete
Duc de Saint-Simon
Then she gazed out before her, with a feeling of dolorous surprise.
The Fortune of the Rougons
Emile Zola
He, with his eyes fixed on the embers, had sunk back into the dolorous past.
Fruitfulness
Emile Zola
He stood stupefied, and so dolorous a spectacle that she could not but laugh.
Gilian The Dreamer
Neil Munro

British Dictionary definitions for dolorous

dolorous

adjective

causing or involving pain or sorrow

Derived Formsdolorously, adverbdolorousness, 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

Word Origin and History for dolorous

adj.

c.1400, "causing pain," from Old French doloros (12c., Modern French douloureux) "painful, sorrowful, wretched," from Late Latin dolorosus "painful, sorrowful," from Latin dolor "pain, grief." Sense of "causing grief" is from mid-15c.; that of "full of sorrow" is from 1510s. Related: Dolorously; dolorousness.