noun
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a person who mourns, esp at a funeral
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(at US revivalist meetings) a person who repents publicly
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mourner
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at mourn, -er 1
Explanation
Anyone who is grieving for a person who has died is a mourner. Funerals give mourners the opportunity to remember and say goodbye to a loved one. While a mourner is anyone who mourns someone's death, the word is often used to mean "person attending a funeral." In some cultures, throughout history, professional mourners were people who were hired to publicly display their grief at the funeral of some well-known figure. Today, most mourners are family members and friends — people who knew the person well and grieve their death.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That reminds me of those Designated Mourner performances that Wallace Shawn would do in an old men’s club downtown.
From Slate • Jan. 27, 2021
Still with the same smile, Mourner Carol turned to the President of France who froze him with a frown.
From Time Magazine Archive
Mourner, it calls you,—"Come to my bosom, Love wipes your tears all away, And will lift the shade of gloom, And for you make radiant room Midst the glories of one endless day."
From Poems by Eddy, Mary Baker
Like the bloodhound in the picture of Suspense, and like The Highland Shepherd's Chief Mourner, the horse is raised by the dignity of suffering to the level of human emotion.
From Landseer A collection of fifteen pictures and a portrait of the painter with introduction and interpretation by Hurll, Estelle M. (Estelle May)
With almost equal facility for humor and pathos, he alternated between such inimitable satire as the Jack in Office and such poignant tragedy as the Highland Shepherd's Chief Mourner.
From Landseer A collection of fifteen pictures and a portrait of the painter with introduction and interpretation by Hurll, Estelle M. (Estelle May)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
