dolefulness
State of sorrow
Dolefulness is a state of sorrowful gloom or melancholy.
The word carries a sense of mournful heaviness rather than sharp grief—a quiet, persistent sadness: The dolefulness in her voice made it clear she hadn't recovered from the loss.
It appears more often in literary contexts than everyday speech.
State of emotional pain
- despondencyProfound loss of hope
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- dejectionState of lowness
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
pensiveness · heavyheartedness · downheartedness · cheerlessness · joylessness · dispiritedness · low spirits · the blues
Deep emotional distress
- heartacheDeep emotional distress
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- woeGreat sorrow or distress
- despairTotal absence of hope
misery · bereavement · lamentation · heartbreak · suffering · agony · torment · affliction
Service honoring the dead
- eulogyTribute for the dead
- wakePath left in water
- memorialThing preserving remembrance
- dirgeMournful commemorative music
requiem · elegy · keening · shiva · vigil · bereavement · black armband · weeds
Showing or feeling grief
- forlornSad and abandoned
- crestfallenSad from disappointment
- downcastSad or despondent
- glumQuietly dejected
lugubrious · woeful · plaintive · hangdog · long-faced · sorrowful · tearful · drooping
sadness
State of emotional pain
- despondencyProfound loss of hope
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- dejectionState of lowness
wistfulness · pensiveness · heavyheartedness · downheartedness · cheerlessness · joylessness · dispiritedness · low spirits · the blues · world-weariness
sorrow
Deep emotional distress
despair · misery · bereavement · lamentation · heartbreak · suffering · agony · torment · affliction · desolation
funeral
Service honoring the dead
dirge · requiem · elegy · keening · shiva · vigil · bereavement · black armband · weeds · lament
mournful
Showing or feeling grief
- forlornSad and abandoned
- crestfallenSad from disappointment
- downcastSad or despondent
glum · lugubrious · woeful · plaintive · hangdog · long-faced · sorrowful · tearful · drooping · sullen
dolefulnesscheerfulness
State of bright spirits
happiness · joy · joyfulness · gaiety · merriment
dole, doleful, indolent, indolence, condolence, dolorous, dolefully, condolences, indolently