sorrowful

English

Alternative forms

• sorrowfull (obsolete)

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈsɔɹoʊfəl/, /ˈsɔɹəfəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɑɹoʊfəl/, /ˈsɑɹəfəl/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɒɹəʊfəl/, /ˈsɒɹəfəl/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈsɔɹɐʉfɘl/, /ˈsɔɹɘfɘl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sor‧row‧ful

Adjective

sorrowful (comparative more sorrowful, superlative most sorrowful)

1. exhibiting sorrow; dejected; distraught; sad. (of a person)

   Synonyms: grievous, lamentable, mournful, sorrow-ridden, sorrowsome; see also Thesaurus:sad

2. Producing sorrow; causing grief.

   Synonyms: pitiful, woebegone; see also Thesaurus:lamentable

   sorrowful accident

   • 1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, chapter 23, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M[elvin] Hill Co., →OCLC:

     She threw her arms around the Lion's neck and kissed him, patting his big head tenderly. Then she kissed the Tin Woodman, who was weeping in a way most dangerous to his joints. But she hugged the soft, stuffed body of the Scarecrow in her arms instead of kissing his painted face, and found she was crying herself at this sorrowful parting from her loving comrades.

Translations

full of sorrow

• Arabic: مُحْزَن (muḥzan)
• Armenian: վշտալի (hy) (vštali)
• Bulgarian: тъ́жен (bg) (tǎ́žen), скръ́бен (bg) (skrǎ́ben)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 悲哀 (zh) (bēi'āi), 悲痛 (zh) (bēitòng), 悲傷 / 悲伤 (zh) (bēishāng), 哀愁 (zh) (āichóu)

• Cornish: ahwerek, moredhek
• Czech: smutný (cs) m, truchlící
• Finnish: surullinen (fi)
• French: triste (fr), douloureux (fr)
• German: betrübt (de), kummervoll (de), sorgenvoll, traurig (de)
• Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃 (gaurs)
• Hungarian: bús (hu)
• Ingrian: murhekas
• Irish: aiféalach
• Japanese: 痛ましい (ja) (いたましい, itamashii), 悲しい (ja) (かなしい, kanashii)
• Korean: 슬프다 (ko) (seulpeuda)
• Macedonian: та́жен (tážen), скр́бен (skŕben)
• Maori: tuarea, aroaroā
• Old English: ċeariġ, ġeōmor
• Ottoman Turkish: سوخته (suhte)
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: غَمْناک (fa) (ğamnâk)

• Polish: smutny (pl) m
• Portuguese: magoado (pt) m
• Russian: печа́льный (ru) (pečálʹnyj), гру́стный (ru) (grústnyj), ско́рбный (ru) (skórbnyj) (dolorous)
• Scottish Gaelic: brònach
• Spanish: triste (es)
• Turkish: acılı (tr), müteessir (tr), üzüntülü (tr)

producing sorrow

• Bulgarian: печа́лен (bg) (pečálen)
• Finnish: surullinen (fi), valitettava (fi)
• French: attristant (fr)
• Georgian: საცოდავი (sacodavi)
• Irish: léanmhar
• Korean: 안타깝다 (ko) (antakkapda)
• Macedonian: жа́лен (žálen), жа́лосен (žálosen)
• Middle English: hevysum
• Turkish: üzücü (tr), hüzünlü (tr), üzüntülü (tr)

Further reading

• “sorrowful”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “sorrowful”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.