1
: full of grief : cheerless
a doleful face
2
: expressing grief : sad
a doleful melody
3
: causing grief or affliction
a doleful loss
dolefulness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of doleful in a Sentence
The girl had a doleful look on her face.
You sounded so doleful about your future that night.
Recent Examples on the Web
Self-contained in a suit and clad by ironic distance, the unnamed sort calls to mind all the doleful observers that have traipsed across the screen since il cinema went modern, highlighting a weakness of a film that could benefit from a touch more idiosyncrasy.
—
Ben Croll, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024
These scenes are very often fun, filthy, hot, and, frankly, a relief after so much doleful, droopy coupling.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2024
Where the Sea Change version sounds doleful, the new orchestration sounded almost hopeful with strings that glide over the chords and a perky piccolo poking through the musical ceiling.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2024
The record’s doleful orchestral compositions feature contributions from Ishibashi’s longtime musical partner Jim O’Rourke.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for doleful 
Ben Croll, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024
These scenes are very often fun, filthy, hot, and, frankly, a relief after so much doleful, droopy coupling.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2024
Where the Sea Change version sounds doleful, the new orchestration sounded almost hopeful with strings that glide over the chords and a perky piccolo poking through the musical ceiling.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2024
The record’s doleful orchestral compositions feature contributions from Ishibashi’s longtime musical partner Jim O’Rourke.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for doleful
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'doleful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Doleful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doleful. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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