lachrymose

American  

[lak-ruh-mohs] / ˈlæk rəˌmoʊs /

adjective

1. suggestive of or tending to cause tears; mournful.

2. given to shedding tears readily; tearful.

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lachrymose British  

/ -ˌməʊz, ˈlækrɪˌməʊs, ˌlækrɪˈmɒsɪtɪ /

adjective

1. given to weeping; tearful

2. mournful; sad

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Other Word Forms

• lachrymosely adverb
• lachrymosity noun

Etymology

Origin of lachrymose

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin lacrimōsus, equivalent to lacrim(a) “tear” ( lachrymal ) + -ōsus -ose ¹

Example Sentences

Many of her discs were recorded with modern organ, and a few compound what already seems a Hollywood weirdness with a lachrymose male chorus.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026

Chappell is actually the alter-ego of the much quieter and self-effacing Kayleigh Amstuzt, whose fragile heart is exposed on lachrymose ballads like Kaleidoscope and California.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2024

“He had this drawing that, without calling attention to itself, without being lachrymose, but with a set of Boothisms that the reader understood, just moved me. So that, I could do,” Remnick adds.

From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2022

In 1912, Edith Maida Lessing wrote the lyrics to a lachrymose ballad about the sinking of the Titanic.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2022

Doc Daneeka demanded, lifting his delicate immaculate dark head up from his chest to gaze at Yossarian irascibly for a moment with lachrymose eyes.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller