sorrow
Americannoun
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sorrows
plural
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distress caused by loss, affliction, disappointment, etc.; grief, sadness, or regret.
-
a cause or occasion of grief or regret, as an affliction, a misfortune, or trouble.
His first sorrow was the bank failure.
- Synonyms:
- adversity
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the expression of grief, sadness, disappointment, or the like.
muffled sorrow.
verb (used without object)
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sorrows,
present (3rd person singular)
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sorrowed,
past participle, past
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sorrowing
present participle
noun
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the characteristic feeling of sadness, grief, or regret associated with loss, bereavement, sympathy for another's suffering, for an injury done, etc
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a particular cause or source of regret, grief, etc
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Also called: sorrowing. the outward expression of grief or sadness
verb
Synonym Usage
Sorrow, distress, grief, misery, woe imply bitter suffering, especially as caused by loss or misfortune. Sorrow is the most general term. Grief is keen suffering, especially for a particular reason. Distress implies anxiety, anguish, or acute suffering caused by the pressure of trouble or adversity. Misery suggests such great and unremitting pain or wretchedness of body or mind as crushes the spirit. Woe is deep or inconsolable grief or misery.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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sorrowernoun
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sorrowfulnessnoun
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sorrowfuladjective
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sorrowlessadjective
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unsorrowingadjective
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sorrowfullyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sorrowsimple
-
sorrowssimple
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have sorrowedperfect
-
has sorrowedperfect
-
am sorrowingprogressive
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are sorrowingprogressive
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is sorrowingprogressive
-
have been sorrowingperfect progressive
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has been sorrowingperfect progressive
Past
-
sorrowedsimple
-
had sorrowedperfect
-
was sorrowingprogressive
-
were sorrowingprogressive
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had been sorrowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sorrow
First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English sorg; cognate with German Sorge, Dutch zorg, Old Norse sorg, Gothic saurga; (verb) Middle English sorwen, Old English sorgian; cognate with Old High German sorgôn
Explanation
Sorrow is a feeling of immense sadness, like the sorrow you would feel if your best friend suddenly moved across the country. Sorrow is an almost unbearable sadness. In fact, it is often used as a synonym for grief. If you drop a pretty picture frame and it breaks, you might feel sad. If, on the other hand, your entire house — including that picture frame — burns to the ground, you will feel sorrow at the loss of everything, including the photographs and other mementos you can never replace.
Vocabulary lists containing sorrow
"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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Emotions on Display
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Words inspired by "Inside Out"
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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.
See Examples For:
“I’m at a loss of words to express the sorrow and the anger I have at the treatment you’ve been dealt by the system.”
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
While the Dalai Lama expressed sorrow and questioned the efficacy of such protests, some scholars criticized him for not trying to stop the practice.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
“The Dodgers express our deep sorrow and share our condolences over the passing of longtime fan Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele,” the team posted Dec. 15 on X.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Yet the movie isn’t simply a eulogy, or an outpouring of sorrow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Without meaning to, Father Cham had brought sorrow to the very people he'd wanted to protect.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
“Renoir” may be a delicate wisp of a film, but it’s flecked with thoughtful questioning about whether childhood’s sorrows leave permanent scars on us as adults.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Our existence is the result of our ancestors’ survival and ability to imagine a future worth enduring the present’s sorrows.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
One thing to know: This Sundance Film Festival hit about the life and sorrows of a logger in early 20th-century America is based on a novella by Denis Johnson.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
"Her films, her voice, her dazzling glory, her initials, her sorrows, her generous passion for animals, her face that became Marianne, Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom," he said.
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2026
“Yet our priests fast, and inflict on themselves severe punishments, and we are taught to bear our sorrows in silence, and all this is so that the soul may be cleansed.”
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
And I sorrowed for my father’s harm as though I had been smitten myself; so sorrowed I for his unhappy old age.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2019
“We are incredibly sorrowed at the loss of Officer Galvez and our thoughts and prayers are with all who knew and loved him.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2015
You’ve clucked, sorrowed and sighed at “The Pride”: plus ça change, plus c’est la même self-esteem issue.
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2010
"I don't think I can take it like I used to," sorrowed Mahalia, "but I'll keep faith."
From Time Magazine Archive
They sorrowed in their dreaming and they sorrowed in their waking up.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
The challenge for the author is to write a pulse-pounding thriller without sorrowing over this injustice too much.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2023
“We mend, but we don’t forget,” she offers by way of comfort to the sorrowing nobleman.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 15, 2022
The pervading mood in “Trickster Feminism” is of a piece with our national mood: gloom-filled, sorrowing, yet occasionally threaded with hope.
From New York Times ● Dec. 12, 2018
Any information will be gladly received by their sorrowing mother, Catherine Mason, at 1818 Hancock St., between Master and Thompson, Phila.
From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2015
Nathan came and knelt beside him with harsh sorrowing face and bitter eyes.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
