sorrowful
Americanadjective
-
full of or feeling sorrow; grieved; sad.
- Synonyms:
- unhappy
-
showing or expressing sorrow; mournful; plaintive.
a sorrowful song.
- Synonyms:
- melancholy
-
involving or causing sorrow; distressing.
a sorrowful event.
- Synonyms:
- heartbreaking, piteous
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sorrowful
before 900; Middle English sorowful, Old English sorgful. See sorrow, -ful
Explanation
Use the adjective sorrowful to describe a sad feeling, especially when it involves grief or loss. You feel sorrowful when you lose someone you love. Sorrowful is a melancholy adjective: when your heart is broken, you are sorrowful, and when your beloved cat dies you're also sorrowful. There is a sense of permanent loss behind the word sorrowful. It comes from the sense of being "full of sorrow," and the ultimate root is the Old English word sorg, which means "grief, regret, trouble, or care."
Vocabulary lists containing sorrowful
The Cay
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List 10
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Cry Me A River: Synonyms for "Sad"
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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.
And accepting that joyful sorrow and sorrowful joy are the double helix of parental DNA takes time.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
“Never did I see a more sorrowful sight, nor witness retribution to the nth degree,” he lamented.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
Figueroa, 29, lived up to his moniker, 'Heartbreaker', on a deflating and sorrowful night for 'Wrecking' Ball and the Liverpool crowd.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026
Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani described his passing as "sorrowful", calling him a "noble and thoughtful actor of Iranian cinema" in a post on X.
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2025
Finn asked, in the same sorrowful, little-kid voice he’d been using all morning with Ms. Morales.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
