doleful

[ dohl-fuh l ]

/ ˈdoʊl fəl /

sorrowful; mournful; melancholy: a doleful look on her face.

Origin of doleful

First recorded in 1225–75, doleful is from the Middle English word dol-ful. See dole², -ful

dole·ful·ly, adverb dole·ful·ness, noun

Rather a stately house of its kind, but dolefully in want of painting, and with dirty windows.

Great Expectations |Charles Dickens
A ghostly priest precedes the weird procession, and dolefully intones the burial service.

Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events |S. Baring-Gould
The flush of interest had died away; he was dolefully tranquil and submissive again.

Simon Dale |Anthony Hope
"Look at me," she said once when he had dolefully commented upon the possibility of change.

The "Genius" |Theodore Dreiser

"It seems that that is the only way to keep his tongue still," dolefully groaned a tall chap.

Frank Merriwell at Yale |Burt L. Standish

doleful

/ (ˈdəʊlfʊl) /

dreary; mournful Archaic word: dolesome (ˈdəʊlsəm)

dolefully, adverb dolefulness, noun