Definition

Adjective: - Sorrowful, mournful, expressing or causing grief: Describes something that shows, is filled with, or evokes deep sadness or sorrow.

Usage

The adjective "dolourous" is a formal and literary word used to describe a profoundly sad or mournful quality. It is typically applied to sounds (like cries or music), expressions, atmospheres, or situations that convey genuine grief.

Examples

• The widow's dolourous weeping could be heard throughout the house.
• The cellist played a dolourous melody that moved the entire audience to tears.
• He spoke in a low, dolourous tone about the friends he had lost.

Advanced Usage

• In a dolourous manner (adverb form: dolourously): This describes an action done in a sorrowful way.
  • She sighed dolourously, remembering happier times.

Variants and Related Words

• Dolorous (adj): This is the more common modern spelling, identical in meaning to "dolourous."
• Dolor (n): A literary noun meaning "sorrow" or "grief," from which "dolourous" is derived.
• Dolour (n): An archaic spelling of "dolor."

Synonyms

• Mournful
• Sorrowful
• Woeful
• Lugubrious
• Plaintive

Antonyms

• Joyful
• Cheerful
• Jubilant
• Blithe

Adjective

1. showing sorrow