Meanings
comparative more sorrowsome · superlative most sorrowsome · alternative sorrow-some
- Marked by sorrow; sad; dreary; sorrowful
Then He too laughing asks me “Why so pale And sorrow-some? [...]”
2011, Omar Khayyam, A. P Briggs, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam2 more examples
The note strikes the young artist curiously, but just then the squeaky elevator arrives with a sorrowsome ding and she is distracted by its squawking doors and a grumbling old lady with a shopping bag.
2005, Robert Dugger, Between ColorsShe burst into sobs and moans, wailing like nobody's business a prompting the gathering to follow her sorrow-some lead.
2012, Jayme Alan Toomey, A Passin’ OnSynonyms: sorrowful, sorrow-ridden, atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveMarked by sorrow; sad; dreary; sorrowful
Origin
From sorrow + -some. Compare Dutch zorgzaam (“careful; considerate”), German sorgsam (“careful”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
sorrowsome. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sorrowsome
“sorrowsome.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sorrowsome. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sorrowsome,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sorrowsome.
Source: sorrowsome on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.