Synonyms for dolorous
- adjective
Most common
All synonyms
Adjective
sorrowful, sad, painful, dismal, tearful, rueful, lugubrious, doleful, piteous, cheerless, lachrymose, dolourous, depressing, melancholy, gloomy, wretched, distressing, grievous, dreary, somber US, sombre UK, forlorn, mournful
Definitions
- adj. 1
Solemnly or ponderously sad.
Example sentences
- painful She is still in the painful process of growing up.
- tearful Ziri, Rima, and their kids had a tearful family reunion.
- rueful Tom wrote a rueful letter to Mary from prison.
- lugubrious I'd prefer to be called lugubrious rather than a sad sack.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| dolorous | steady | |
| painful | rising | |
| tearful | rising | |
| rueful | rising | |
| lugubrious | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- sad1
- 6 letters
- gloomy2, dismal2, dreary2, somber2, sombre, rueful2
- 7 letters
- painful2, tearful2, forlorn2, doleful2, piteous
- 8 letters
- wretched2, grievous2, mournful2
- 9 letters
- sorrowful3, cheerless, dolourous
- 10 letters
- depressing3, melancholy4, lugubrious4, lachrymose3
- 11 letters
- distressing3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (gloomy2 = 2 syllables).