Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

mournful

American  
[mawrn-fuhl, mohrn-] / ˈmɔrn fəl, ˈmoʊrn- /

adjective

  1. feeling or expressing sorrow or grief; sorrowful; sad.

  2. of or relating to mourning mourning for the dead.

  3. causing grief or lament.

    a mournful occasion.

  4. gloomy, somber, or dreary, as in appearance or character.

    mournful shadows.
mournful British  
/ ˈmɔːnfʊl /

adjective

  1. evoking grief; sorrowful

  2. gloomy; sad

"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

Other Word Forms

  • mournfully adverb
  • mournfulness noun
  • overmournful adjective
  • overmournfully adverb
  • overmournfulness noun
  • unmournful adjective
  • unmournfully adverb

Etymology

Origin of mournful

First recorded in 1375–1425, mournful is from the late Middle English word morneful. See mourn, -ful

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.