tear-stained

[teer-steynd]

adjective

1. marked or wet with tears.

   a tear-stained letter.

2. showing traces of tears or signs of having wept.

   tear-stained cheeks.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tear-stained¹

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

The germ of an edgy fantasia about an isolated pop icon’s ego death is swimming somewhere in the DNA of “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” but it’s been flattened into a superficial, tear-stained pity party.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

His face was tear-stained and his eyes swollen in the postrace news conference, but O’Ward was stoic.

Read more on Seattle Times

I woke up with a sweaty forehead and tear-stained cheeks.

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Watkins bowed her head on the table to hide her own tear-stained cheeks.

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His album “Come On Joe,” released by RCA in 1987, contained four Top 40 country singles, including “No More One More Time,” a lovelorn ballad, and the rollicking “Tear-Stained Letter,” both of which reached the country Top 10 in 1988.

Read more on New York Times