doleful

[ dohl-fuhl ]
See synonyms for: dolefuldolefullydolefulness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. sorrowful; mournful; melancholy: a doleful look on her face.

Origin of doleful

1
First recorded in 1225–75, doleful is from the Middle English word dol-ful.See dole2, -ful

Other words from doleful

  • dole·ful·ly, adverb
  • dole·ful·ness, noun

Words Nearby doleful

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use doleful in a sentence

  • But the business of most of them that fared this way whose faring has been preserved was of a very doleful character.

  • When his disciple had finished the solemn and doleful phrase, he smiled while looking round.

    Balsamo, The Magician | Alexander Dumas
  • Some of the animals suffered so with thirst that they could not graze, and uttered doleful whinneys of distress.

    Overland | John William De Forest
  • Perhaps it was this doleful, ominous sound more than anything else that somehow took the enthusiasm out of them.

    The Rival Campers Afloat | Ruel Perley Smith
  • And no wonder, for of all the doleful too-tooings ever uttered by wind instrument, this was the dolefullest.

British Dictionary definitions for doleful

doleful

/ (ˈdəʊlfʊl) /


adjective
  1. dreary; mournful: Archaic word: dolesome (ˈdəʊlsəm)

Derived forms of doleful

  • dolefully, adverb
  • dolefulness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012