sorrowful

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sorrowful

/ˈsɔɹoʊfəl/ Canada
/ˈsɔɹəfəl/ Canada
/ˈsɑɹoʊfəl/ US
/ˈsɑɹəfəl/ US
/ˈsɒɹəʊfəl/ UK
/ˈsɒɹəfəl/ UK
/ˈsɔɹɐʉfɘl/ New Zealand
/ˈsɔɹɘfɘl/ New Zealand

Where it comes from

From Middle English sorweful, from Old English sorhful, sorgful (“full of care; anxious; sorrowful”), from Proto-Germanic *surgafullaz (“full of care; anxious”), equivalent to sorrow + -ful. Cognate with Old High German sorgfol (“careful; anxious”), Norwegian sorgfull (“sorrowful”), Icelandic sorgfullur (“lamentable”).

adjective more sorrowful · most sorrowful · sorrowfull

exhibiting sorrow; dejected; distraught; sad. (of a person)
Similar: grievous, lamentable, mournful, sorrow-ridden, sorrowsome, atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out, chapfallen
Producing sorrow; causing grief. sorrowful accident
Similar: pitiful, woebegone, atrabiliary, atrabilious, deplorable, depressing, distressing, grievous, heartbreaking, heartrending, miserable, lamentable

Translations

Every language

adj full of sorrow

Español	triste
한국어	슬프다 seulpeuda
日本語	痛ましい itamashii, 悲しい kanashii
中文	悲哀 bēi'āi, 悲痛 bēitòng, 悲傷 /悲伤 bēishāng, 哀愁 āichóu
हिन्दी	दुःखी duḥkhī
Português	magoado
Français	triste, douloureux
Deutsch	betrübt, kummervoll, sorgenvoll, traurig
Русский	печа́льный pečálʹnyj, гру́стный grústnyj, ско́рбный skórbnyj
العربية	مُحْزَن muḥzan

adj producing sorrow

한국어	안타깝다 antakkapda
हिन्दी	दुखदायी dukhdāyī, दुखद dukhad, दुखदायक dukhdāyak
Français	attristant

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Cite this

MLA

"sorrowful." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sorrowful. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sorrowful. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sorrowful

Chicago

"sorrowful." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sorrowful.

BibTeX

@misc{sorrowful_2026,
  title = {sorrowful},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sorrowful},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}