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
But those doleful practical consequences are all around us.
—
Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review, 25 June 2024
In a doleful irony, his digital rerecording of the piece, taken at a more stately tempo and with other changes, would be the last Gould album released by Columbia before his untimely death at age 50 in 1982.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
With his bulldog build and his doleful countenance, Mr. Young amassed more than 160 film and television credits.
—Alex Williams, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2023
The elderly sage was cast as a doleful penitent, making up for youthful indiscretions.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
See all Example Sentences for doleful 
Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review, 25 June 2024
In a doleful irony, his digital rerecording of the piece, taken at a more stately tempo and with other changes, would be the last Gould album released by Columbia before his untimely death at age 50 in 1982.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
With his bulldog build and his doleful countenance, Mr. Young amassed more than 160 film and television credits.
—Alex Williams, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2023
The elderly sage was cast as a doleful penitent, making up for youthful indiscretions.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
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.
Dictionary Entries Near doleful
Cite this Entry
“Doleful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doleful. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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