SORROW: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for SORROW?

Need another word that means the same as “sorrow”? Find 66 synonyms and 30 related words for “sorrow” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Sorrow” are: grief, regret, rue, ruefulness, sadness, sorrowfulness, unhappiness, dejection, depression, misery, cheerlessness, downheartedness, despondency, despair, desolation, wretchedness, glumness, gloom, gloominess, heaviness of heart, dolefulness, melancholy, low spirits, mournfulness, woe, heartache, trouble, difficulty, problem, adversity, affliction, trial, tribulation, misfortune, reverse of fortune, misadventure, mishap, stroke of bad luck, setback, reverse, blow, failure, accident, disaster, tragedy, catastrophe, calamity, grieve, be sad, feel sad, be miserable, be despondent, suffer, ache, agonize, anguish, be wretched, be dejected, be heavy of heart, pine, weep, shed tears, mourn, lament, wail

Sorrow as a Noun

Definitions of "Sorrow" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “sorrow” as a noun can have the following definitions:

  • Sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment.
  • The state of being sad.
  • A feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others.
  • The outward expression of grief; lamentation.
  • Something that causes great unhappiness.
  • An event or circumstance that causes sorrow.
  • An emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement.

Synonyms of "Sorrow" as a noun (47 Words)

accidentA crash involving road or other vehicles.
He had a little accident but I washed his shorts out.
adversityA stroke of ill fortune; a calamitous event.
Resilience in the face of adversity.
afflictionAn instance of one celestial body afflicting another.
Poor people in great affliction.
blowAn act of blowing an instrument.
He gave his nose a loud blow.
calamityAn event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster.
Emergency measures may be necessary in order to avert a calamity.
catastropheSomething very unfortunate or unsuccessful.
Inaction will only bring us closer to catastrophe.
cheerlessnessA feeling of dreary or pessimistic sadness.
dejectionA state of melancholy depression.
He was slumped in deep dejection.
depressionA period during the 1930s when there was a worldwide economic depression and mass unemployment.
Hurricanes start off as loose regions of bad weather known as tropical depressions.
desolationThe state of being decayed or destroyed.
The stony desolation of the desert.
despairThe complete loss or absence of hope.
A voice full of self hatred and despair.
despondencyLow spirits from loss of hope or courage; dejection.
An air of despondency.
difficultyA condition or state of affairs almost beyond one’s ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome.
Had difficulty walking.
disasterDenoting a genre of films that use natural or accidental catastrophe as the mainspring of plot and setting.
Reduced legal aid could spell financial disaster.
dolefulnessSadness caused by grief or affliction.
downheartednessA feeling of low spirits.
failureA person with a record of failing; someone who loses consistently.
That year there was a crop failure.
gloomA dark or shady place.
Gloom pervaded the office.
gloominessAn atmosphere of depression and melancholy.
glumnessAn atmosphere of depression and melancholy.
griefSomething that causes great unhappiness.
Time heals griefs and quarrels.
heartacheEmotional anguish or grief, typically caused by the loss or absence of someone loved.
The familiar pang of heartache.
heaviness of heartPersisting sadness.
low spiritsAn air mass of lower pressure; often brings precipitation.
melancholyA humor that was once believed to be secreted by the kidneys or spleen and to cause sadness and melancholy.
He had an ability to convey a sense of deep melancholy and yearning through much of his work.
misadventureAn instance of misfortune.
The coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.
miseryA state or feeling of great physical or mental distress or discomfort.
The misery of the miner s existence.
misfortuneAn unfortunate condition or event.
Never laugh at other people s misfortunes.
mishapAn instance of misfortune.
The event passed without mishap.
mournfulnessThe passionate and demonstrative activity of expressing grief.
problemA source of difficulty.
Urban problems such as traffic congestion and smog.
regretA feeling of sadness, repentance, or disappointment over an occurrence or something that one has done or failed to do.
Please give your grandmother my regrets.
reverseA play in which a player reverses the direction of attack by passing the ball to a teammate moving in the opposite direction.
The gall actuates a reverse of photosynthesis.
reverse of fortuneTurning in the opposite direction.
rueCompassion; pity.
Tears of pitying rue.
ruefulnessSadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment.
sadnessEmotions experienced when not in a state of well-being.
She tired of his perpetual sadness.
setbackAn unfortunate happening that hinders or impedes; something that is thwarting or frustrating.
They had to get permission to overlap the city s setback lines.
sorrowfulnessAn emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement.
stroke of bad luckA light touch.
tragedyAn event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe.
Greek tragedy.
trial(law) the determination of a person’s innocence or guilt by due process of law.
He called each flip of the coin a new trial.
tribulationAn annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event.
The tribulations of being a megastar.
troubleAn effort that is inconvenient.
She s not the first girl who s got herself into trouble.
unhappinessState characterized by emotions ranging from mild discontentment to deep grief.
I ve seen too much unhappiness caused by broken marriages.
woeIntense mournfulness.
The Everton tale of woe continued.
wretchednessThe character of being uncomfortable and unpleasant.
The grey wretchedness of the rain.

Usage Examples of "Sorrow" as a noun

  • It was a great sorrow to her when they separated.
  • He tried to express his sorrow at her loss.
  • A bereaved person needs time to work through their sorrow.
  • He drank to drown his sorrows.

Sorrow as a Verb

Definitions of "Sorrow" as a verb

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “sorrow” as a verb can have the following definitions:

  • Feel or display deep distress.
  • Feel grief.

Synonyms of "Sorrow" as a verb (19 Words)

acheFeel physical pain.
My legs ached from the previous day s exercise.
agonizeCause to agonize.
I didn t agonize over the problem.
anguishCause emotional anguish or make miserable.
I spent the next two weeks anguishing about whether I d made the right decision.
be dejectedHave an existence, be extant.
be despondentWork in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a specific function.
be heavy of heartHappen, occur, take place.
be miserableBe priced at.
be sadHave life, be alive.
be wretchedBe priced at.
despairLose or be without hope.
We should not despair.
feel sadExamine by touch.
grieveFeel intense sorrow about.
It grieves me to think of you in that house alone.
lamentRegret strongly.
We lamented the death of the child.
mournObserve the customs of mourning after the death of a loved one.
Isobel mourned her husband.
pineHave a desire for something or someone who is not present.
shed tearsGet rid of.
sufferUndergo or suffer.
His relationship with Anne did suffer.
wailUtter a wail.
But why she wailed.
weepMourn for; shed tears over.
She rubbed the sore making it weep.

Usage Examples of "Sorrow" as a verb

  • A woman had cried all night, sorrowing over the death of her husband.

Associations of "Sorrow" (30 Words)

afflictionAn instance of one celestial body afflicting another.
A crippling affliction of the nervous system.
bemoanExpress discontent or sorrow over (something.
It was no use bemoaning her lot.
deplorableDeserving strong condemnation; completely unacceptable.
A deplorable act of violence.
deploreRegret strongly.
We deplore the government s treatment of political prisoners.
despairAbandon hope; give up hope; lose heart.
In despair I hit the bottle.
dirgeA lament for the dead, especially one forming part of a funeral rite.
The wind howled dirges around the chimney.
dithyrambA wildly enthusiastic speech or piece of writing.
dolefulFilled with or evoking sadness.
He could be struck off with doleful consequences.
elegiacVerses in an elegiac metre.
She watched repeat serials fixed on their moody and elegiac characterization.
elegy(in Greek and Latin verse) a poem written in elegiac couplets, as notably by Catullus and Propertius.
griefIntense sorrow, especially caused by someone’s death.
Her death was a great grief to John.
grieveCause great distress to (someone.
It grieves me to think of you in that house alone.
grievousShockingly brutal or cruel.
His death was a grievous blow.
lamentA mournful poem a lament for the dead.
We lamented the death of the child.
lamentable(of circumstances or conditions) very bad; deplorable.
Her open prejudice showed lamentable immaturity.
lamentationThe passionate expression of grief or sorrow; weeping.
Scenes of lamentation.
melancholyHaving a feeling of melancholy sad and pensive.
The melancholy tone of her writing.
mournObserve the customs of mourning after the death of a loved one.
Publishers mourned declining sales of hardback fiction.
mournfulFilled with or evoking sadness.
Stared with mournful eyes.
mourningThe passionate and demonstrative activity of expressing grief.
She s still in mourning after the death of her husband.
nostalgiaSomething done or presented in order to evoke feelings of nostalgia.
An evening of TV nostalgia.
pitifulVery small or poor; inadequate.
Pitiful exhibition of cowardice.
requiemA musical composition setting parts of a requiem Mass or of a similar character.
He designed the epic as a requiem for his wife.
rueCompassion; pity.
To his rue the error cost him the game.
sadOf things that make you feel sad.
A sad day for us all.
sadnessEmotions experienced when not in a state of well-being.
A source of great sadness.
sorrowfulCausing grief.
The sorrowful news of his father s death.
sorryBad; unfortunate.
A sorry horse.
threnodyA lament.
A brooding threnody to urban desolation.
wailUtter a wail.
But why she wailed.

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