adjective
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about to cry
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accompanying or indicative of weeping
a tearful expression
-
tending to produce tears; sad
Other Word Forms
- half-tearful adjective
- half-tearfully adverb
- half-tearfulness noun
- tearfully adverb
- tearfulness noun
Etymology
Origin of tearful
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.
In a tearful speech, she recalled her "tireless" pursuit early in her career to become a K-pop idol had ended with rejection and disappointment.
From BBC
After harried evacuations and tearful returns to the charred remains of the 46-unit complex, the Upper Woodies condo association formed committees to start the rebuilding process.
"I need them, and they need me," he said, very tearful.
From BBC
On Friday, groups of tearful families and teenagers gathered near the police cordon around the bar.
From BBC
A tearful Redknapp, who recalled last week how his grandmother used to run bets for a bookmaker when gambling was illegal, earned a big kiss from his wife Sandra.
From Barron's
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.
