doleful

Definitions

dole (grief) + -ful (full of) = 'full of grief.' Here dole is an old word for sorrow that reached English through Old French doel, ultimately from Latin dolēre. So a doleful look or voice is one filled with sadness. Note: this dole is unrelated to the noun dole meaning welfare payment, which comes from a separate Germanic word for 'a share.'

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The dog gave a doleful look as we left without it.

• 2.

  She answered in a doleful voice that the news was bad.