tearful

American  

[teer-fuhl] / ˈtɪər fəl /

adjective

1. full of tears; tear; weeping.

2. causing tears: tear.

   the tearful story of his poverty.

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tearful British  

/ ˈtɪəfʊl /

adjective

1. about to cry

2. accompanying or indicative of weeping

   a tearful expression

3. tending to produce tears; sad

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Other Word Forms

• half-tearful adjective
• half-tearfully adverb
• half-tearfulness noun
• tearfully adverb
• tearfulness noun

Etymology

Origin of tearful

First recorded in 1580–90; tear ¹ + -ful

Explanation

Before you break out in a full-fledged cry — when you're wiping your eyes and blowing your nose, you're tearful. If a person is tearful, he or she is full of tears. Most of them haven't flowed, but you can see them in someone's eyes. If you break out in a full-fledged cry, you're no longer tearful, you're weeping. If something is tearful, there are lots of tears involved. Think about the last time you said a tearful goodbye to a good friend, gave your sister a tearful hug, or witnessed a victim's tearful plea for mercy.

Example Sentences

The day after Jessica’s tearful ride home, her dad told her that her mom had disappeared.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

"Imagine the pressure," a tearful Ghotbi said, speaking to BBC Sport.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

The demonstrations in L.A. were often tearful affairs, she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026

Co-founder and CEO Jenny Goodman said she received an all-caps message with a smiling, tearful emoji from her director of operations after the ruling.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

There were tearful good-byes as birds left old friends behind.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown