What does "mournful" mean?

mournful — meaning, definition & examples

adj. feeling or showing deep sadness. You use this to describe someone who is very upset, like after a death, or a sound that is very sad to hear.

adj. expressing or feeling deep sorrow and grief. Often describes a person's demeanor or a sound that evokes a sense of loss.

simple

“The dog gave a mournful howl in the middle of the night.”

contextual

“The crowd stood in a mournful silence as the funeral procession passed through the village square.”

complex

“The composer used a low, mournful melody to capture the protagonist's sense of isolation and regret after the long journey home.”

“But its mood is more mournful, death-haunted, with one eye on the past.”

From mourn + -ful.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.