ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsDdoleful
ISEE/SSAThard
doleful
Meaning: expressing deep sadness or sorrow
doleful in a sentence
How doleful is used in real sentences:
A doleful melody drifted from the empty theater.
The child cast a doleful glance at the train carrying his friend away.
“Usually demure in public, Valera endured the insult silently; afterward, witnesses recalled her doleful expression as she examined another collapsed home.”
— from the passage The Northern Channel
Synonyms for doleful
Other words for doleful — mournful, sorrowful and plaintive — carry the same meaning.
- mournful
- sorrowful
- plaintive
Antonyms of doleful
Words that mean the opposite of doleful:
- cheerful
- joyful
- buoyant
Where it comes from
From Old French dol, meaning 'sorrow or grief.'
Memory hook
DOLEFUL is FULL of DOLE, an old word for sorrow.