doleful
3
8.2
- adjective
- /ˈdoʊlfəl/
:
triste
- He wore a doleful expression after hearing the sad news about his friend.
- doleful look
- doleful eyes
- doleful expression
Examples
-
Lisa put on a doleful face.
Fiction book (1992) -
The organ played a doleful, meandering song.
Fiction book (1990) -
Under such conditions, the consequences will surely be as doleful and costly as they have been in the past.
Academic text (1991) -
And those doleful eyes of hers clearly telegraph that a very heavy burden still rests upon her soul.
Fiction book (1998) -
"Where have you been?" Seguilo straightened to his full height, a thin man with a wise, doleful face.
Fiction book (1992) -
While he scans our space with doleful eyes, she, confidently peaceful, falls asleep at his side.
Academic text (1992) -
Her daughter stands there looking doleful, the suede gloves drooping from her clenched fist.
Fiction book (1994) -
From one of the downstairs windows, I glimpsed Vinnie's pale, doleful face; perhaps she'd been watching all the while, but she backed away too quickly to allow a parting wave.
Fiction book (2002) -
In the doleful conditions which now prevailed at Castle Hackton, the entire management of the house and of the Lyndon estate fell to Mrs. Barry, whose spirit of order attended to all the 10, 000 details of a great establishment.
-
I admired other things as well, for Illimar appeared unusually tenderhearted and doleful, and Asta had to reassure him with discreet pats.
Fiction book (1993)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Feeling unhappy or upset because of something
62
4.5
Making you feel sad and hopeless
37
5.9
Feeling or showing deep sadness
26
1.8
Showing you are about to cry because of a strong feeling
20
3.7
Feeling like you want to cry easily
18
3.9
Feeling deep sadness because of a loss
18
7.7
Feeling very sad and without hope about the future
15
7.9
Being quiet and unhappy and showing little interest in others
14
3.6
Feeling very sad because of loss or disappointment
10
7.9
Having a sad sound that makes people feel unhappy
3
6.0
Feeling very sad and showing deep sorrow, like after bad news
2
9.1
Showing sad feelings about something lost or in the past
1
9.9
Feeling or showing deep sadness because of a loss
1
9.9
Showing sadness or making people want to cry
Full of deep sadness
Feeling very sad because of a loss
Very sad in a way that sounds like a funeral song
Antonyms
How Sad
Surface Forms
Morphology
doleful = dole (semi-transparent) = dole + ful
The formation 'dole' + '-ful' is regular, but the noun 'dole' meaning 'sorrow' is rare/archaic and may be unfamiliar or confused with other senses of 'dole' for many learners.
Etymology
The word doleful comes from an old English word dole meaning 'sorrow' or 'grief', and the ending -ful means 'full of'. So doleful literally means 'full of sorrow', which is why we use it for a sad face, sound, or mood.