sorrowful
adjective
Simple meaning
Experiencing or showing or expressing sorrow usually that associated with irreparable loss.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sahrohfuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsɑɹoʊfəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Experiencing or marked by or expressing sorrow especially that associated with irreparable loss
“She gave the empty nursery a sorrowful glance after losing her baby.”
Exhibiting sorrow; dejected; distraught; sad. (of a person)
Producing sorrow; causing grief.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Experiencing or marked by or expressing sorrow especially that associated with irreparable loss
Used this way, sorrowful is a common word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.
“She gave the empty nursery a sorrowful glance after losing her baby.”
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.