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

---

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

Example Sentences

Love becomes more mournful on “Harbor Lights,” the first of two ballads on the LP: “One way ticket and a runaway heart / A sailor’s dream came true the night I dreamed you.”

From The Wall Street Journal

He also renders the mournful ballad “A House Is Not a Home” with sensitivity.

From The Wall Street Journal

Even so, my seat mate demanded to be moved, offering a mournful “sorry, mate” as a flight attendant whisked him a few rows up.

From Los Angeles Times

I didn’t know just how mournful to be, though, as the festival marched along, it became clear there was a space for nostalgic reflections.

From Los Angeles Times

We hear the mournful horn of the lanchita, the ferry that goes back and forth from Havana to Regla, as it sets off yet again across the harbor.

From Literature

Related Words

• anguished
• forlorn
• sad