Standard Lemma guide

mournful

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈmɔɹnfəl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈmɔːnfəl/
  • /ˈmo(ː)ɹnfəl/ rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
  • /ˈmoənfəl/ non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)nfəl
  • CMU ARPABET: M AO1 R N F AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Filled with grief or sadness; being in a state in which one mourns.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: miserable, sorrowful, atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out, chapfallen, cheerless, chopfallen, crestfallen, cut up, damp, dejected, depressed, despondent, disgruntled, disconsolate, disheartened, dismal, doleful, dolesome, down, down in the dumps, down in the mouth, downcast, downhearted, downsome, dull, elegiac, elegious, forlorn, gloomy, glum, grief-stricken, grieving, heavy-hearted, heartsore, heartsick, inconsolable, infelicitous, jawfallen, joyless, lachrymose, lamentful, low, low-spirited, lugubrious, lumpish, melancholic, melancholy, moody, mopey, morose, mournful, passionate, plaintive, Plutonian, Plutonic, querulous, ruthful, sad, saddened, saturnine, shattered, solemn, sombre, sorrow-ridden, sorrowsome, spiritless, sullen, threnetic, threnetical, triste, tristful, uncheerful, uncheery, unconsolable, unhappy, unlively, wistful, woe, woebegone, woeful, wretched

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Fit to inspire mourning; tragic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pitiful, rueful, atrabiliary, atrabilious, deplorable, depressing, distressing, grievous, heartbreaking, heartrending, miserable, lamentable, lachrymable, mournful, regrettable, sad, saddening, sorrowful, tragic, unhappy, upsetting, woebegone, woeful

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

filled with or evoking sadness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the child's doleful expression
  • stared with mournful eyes
  • mournful news

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: doleful

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

expressing sorrow

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: plaintive

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From mourn + -ful.

Across languages

Translations

37 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: тъжен (tǎžen) — filled with grief or sadness
  • Bulgarian: печален (pečalen) — filled with grief or sadness
  • Catalan: planyívol — filled with grief or sadness
  • Esperanto: funebra — filled with grief or sadness
  • French: affligé — filled with grief or sadness
  • French: éploré — filled with grief or sadness
  • French: mélancolique — filled with grief or sadness
  • French: lugubre — filled with grief or sadness
  • French: funèbre — filled with grief or sadness
  • French: morne — filled with grief or sadness
  • French: chagrin — filled with grief or sadness
  • Galician: pesaroso — filled with grief or sadness
  • Georgian: საცოდავი (sacodavi) — filled with grief or sadness
  • Greek: πένθιμος (pénthimos) — filled with grief or sadness
  • Italian: lamentoso — filled with grief or sadness
  • Latin: funestus — filled with grief or sadness
  • Māori: taukiri — filled with grief or sadness
  • Māori: tīkapa — filled with grief or sadness
  • Māori: whakahiatangi — filled with grief or sadness
  • Marshallese: būrom̧ōj — filled with grief or sadness
  • Occitan: mornarós — filled with grief or sadness
  • Occitan: malgraciós — filled with grief or sadness
  • Occitan: languinós — filled with grief or sadness
  • Occitan: melancolic — filled with grief or sadness
  • Occitan: mòrn — filled with grief or sadness
  • Occitan: solombrós — filled with grief or sadness
  • Portuguese: pesaroso — filled with grief or sadness
  • Russian: скорбный (skorbnyj) — filled with grief or sadness
  • Russian: печа́льный (pečálʹnyj) — filled with grief or sadness
  • Russian: заунывный (zaunyvnyj) — filled with grief or sadness
  • Scottish Gaelic: brònach — filled with grief or sadness
  • Spanish: melancólico — filled with grief or sadness
  • Spanish: lastimero — filled with grief or sadness
  • Spanish: lutoso — filled with grief or sadness
  • Spanish: luctuoso — filled with grief or sadness
  • Turkish: kederli — filled with grief or sadness
  • Turkish: hüzünlü — filled with grief or sadness