dolorous

adjective

do·​lor·​ous ˈdō-lə-rəs How to pronounce dolorous (audio)
also
ˈdä- How to pronounce dolorous (audio)
: causing, marked by, or expressing misery or grief
dolorously adverb
dolorousness noun

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The Painful History of Dolorous

If you’ve ever studied a Romance language, you’ve likely run into words related to Latin dolor, meaning "pain" or "grief." Indeed, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian all refer to pain using descendants of dolor. English (which despite its many Latinate terms is categorized as a Germanic language) has dolor to thank for dolorous. When the word first appeared, it was linked to physical pain; as the British surgeon John Banister wrote in 1578, "No medicine may prevail … till the same dolorous tooth be … plucked up by the roots." The "causing pain" sense of dolorous coexisted with the "sorrowful" sense for centuries, but (to the dolor, perhaps, of some) its use is now rare.

Examples of dolorous in a Sentence

dolorous ballads of death and regret
Recent Examples on the Web Above ground, the images are reminiscent of Bela Tarr or the particularly dolorous stretches of early Tarkovsky movies, an impression accented by the strange siren-like blares, twangs and choral interludes of Tako Zhordania’s otherwordly score. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 8 July 2023 The next evening, a lanky youth in military fatigues mumbles something less dolorous from the same podium and Llewyn can only watch from the sidelines as the audience applauds with vigour. Hazlitt, 24 Aug. 2022 Things had changed just enough to incorporate this kind of hard, dolorous realism. Wesley Morris, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2020 Filled with desolate vistas, a feathered and furred menagerie, and multiple aperture-like windows, these fragments quickly establish a moody tone and over time become dolorous refrains. Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2018 His Grammy supremacy, to the exclusion of Sheeran, shows that the dolorous guitarist no longer holds intrinsic sway over the smiling showman for the awards' purposes. Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 28 Nov. 2017 The mosaics portray Jesus and his human forebears, including Joseph and a dolorous Mother Mary. Nasser Nasser, National Geographic, 27 May 2016 Did Affleck use up his store of dolorous winces in Manchester by the Sea? Christian Lorentzen, New Republic, 5 July 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dolorous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dolorous was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near dolorous

Cite this Entry

“Dolorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dolorous. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

dolorous

adjective
do·​lor·​ous ˈdō-lə-rəs How to pronounce dolorous (audio)
ˈdäl-ə-
: causing, marked by, or expressing sorrow
dolorously adverb

Medical Definition

dolorous

adjective
do·​lor·​ous ˈdō-lə-rəs How to pronounce dolorous (audio) ˈdäl-ə- How to pronounce dolorous (audio)
1
: causing, characterized by, or affected with physical pain
dolorous sensations
2
: causing, marked by, or expressive of misery or grief
dolorously adverb
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