sorrow
Americannoun
-
sorrows
plural
-
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
-
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:
From the moment she walked onto the stage at his public memorial in Arizona to fireworks more suited for a World Series championship, Erika Kirk has alienated people, even drawing accusations of faking her sorrow.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
“Words cannot begin to express the profound sorrow I feel that a service we designed to bring people happiness and joy has been abused to cause harm.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed his "deep sorrow and heartfelt regret" over the latest blaze, and instructed authorities to "conduct an immediate investigation", according to a statement from his office.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed "deep grief and sorrow over the deaths of 14 infants" in separate statements.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
If he had any sorrow, ‘it sat with its head under its wing’, and he turned only his sunny side to the world.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
That name — “dolores,” meaning sorrows — “seemed appropriate given what was to come,” San Francisco historian Alec Scott told me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 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
These secret sorrows bring us into an uncomfortable intimacy with the narrator.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 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
Today there were fear, hatred, and pain, but no dignity of emotion, or deep or complex sorrows.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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
The cap’n sat at the foot of Pap and Ma’s bed and said, “I’m sure sorrowed to hear ’bout Big Charlie’s run-in with that ax.
From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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
“Words fail to describe the grateful relief that this work has brought to many a sorrowing household,” wrote David Wills, a lawyer who led the effort to create the Gettysburg National Cemetery.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 4, 2020
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
Where sorrowing they weep into the stream forever.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
