more in sorrow than in anger

1. Saddened rather than infuriated by someone's behavior. For example, When Dad learned that Jack had stolen a car, he looked at him more in sorrow than in anger. This expression first appeared in 1603 in Shakespeare's Hamlet (1:2), where Horatio describes to Hamlet the appearance of his father's ghost: “A countenance more in sorrow than in anger.”

Example Sentences

“Seems as if David Adjmi is a liar and plagiarist,” my friend wrote, more in sorrow than in anger.

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To be clear, Smil writes more in sorrow than in anger.

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His tone was more in sorrow than in anger.

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In the Daily Express, meanwhile, columnist Virginia Blackburn addressed the couple more in sorrow than in anger, asking: “Is it Meghan’s fault?”

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More in sorrow than in anger, Trump put his persecution complex on full display and sought to tug at the heart strings.

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