mournful

[mawrn-fuhl, mohrn-]

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

/ ˈmɔːnfʊl /

adjective

1. evoking grief; sorrowful

2. gloomy; sad

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of mournful¹

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

Example Sentences

The squash, cherimoya and mamey incongruously piled in the lower right corner recall the “strange fruit” of the mournful Abel Meeropol lynching song.

From Los Angeles Times

Kirk’s death has triggered a range of reactions, much of it mournful sympathy for the 31-year-old activist and his family.

From Los Angeles Times

At the start, music is mournful but not quite sorrowful, a lightly contemplative jazz-inspired feel anchored by a steel hang drum.

From Los Angeles Times

“She has such a deep feel for human beings. This is a sad, mournful but beautiful meditation on loss. People should be prepared to cathartically cry. There isn’t a false note in it.”

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile, in Latin America, the mournful tones of traditional boleros and rancheras gave way to more alternative expressions of heartache, influenced by anglophone artists and accented with distinctly Latino flourishes of romance.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• anguished 
• forlorn 
• sad