MOURNFUL Synonyms: 239 Similar and Opposite Words

mournful

adjective

ˈmȯrn-fəl

Definition of mournful

as in weeping

expressing or suggesting mourning she had such a mournful expression that someone teasingly asked if her dog had died

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sad

feeling unhappiness the mournful survivors of the disaster were faced with the grim task of burying the dead

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in depressing

causing unhappiness the mournful death of a beloved entertainer

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of mournful But the production here betrays its economy, and the direction, by Garth Davis and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, remains earthbound, held down by mournful strings and devoid of color. — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026 Part of it was the circumstances of his death and the mournful public procession through Brooklyn. — Jeff Weiss, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026 These pauses also give the documentary an air of mournful respect, making its pace more deliberate than the standard talking heads-doc that might be mistaken as a stylistic counterpart. — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026 Since his siblings were crying with the same mournful expression, clinging to their father’s corpse, Shoichiro willed himself to cry too, and the tears came immediately. — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mournful

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mournful

Adjective

And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.

— David Mamet, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.

— Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021

Definition of weeping

Adjective

There are concerted efforts to ban such devices, but they are still used with depressing frequency.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 12 Oct. 2026
Sunday’s 31-24 loss to Cincinnati – the latest miserable day during this depressing season - crystallized several issues that general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley must navigate in the days and weeks ahead.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of depressing

Adjective

While mourning her father, the heartbroken Sara uses a piece of chalk to draw a circle on the floor of the attic resembling the one Rama creates to protect Sita.

— Sohini Sarah Pillai, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire honored Macy at a county Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday, telling community leaders that her death had left his office and the wider community heartbroken.

— Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of heartbroken

Adjective

Celebrated as masterpieces today, at the time they were regarded as the unpolished works of a depressed, crazy man and commercially worthless.

— Joan Martelli, Time, 17 Oct. 2026
In the event of a severe winter or import bottlenecks, depressed storage levels not only narrow Europe's capacity to absorb supply shocks but also risk driving natural gas prices higher.

— , CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of depressed

Browse Nearby Words

mourned

mournful

mournfully

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Mournful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mournful. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of mournful

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes