How to Use sob story in a Sentence

sob story

noun
Definition of sob storynext
  • I don't want to hear any of your sob stories.
  • She told a sob story about how she had to starve herself to pay for the rent.
  • The same can’t be said for the state of Oregon’s overall budget, which doesn’t make for a sob story to present to Congress.
    — oregonlive, 9 Dec. 2020
  • That deal is named after a game show in which housewives would tell sob stories in exchange for prizes.
    — Jeremy Stahl, Slate Magazine, 20 June 2017
  • But enough with my sob story which deprived me of my rightful brilliance!
    — Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 3 Aug. 2012
  • No one wants to hear another sob story about the middle class Black kid who grew up around white people.
    — Kathleen Newman-Bremang, refinery29.com, 1 Feb. 2022
  • Don’t spin a sob story or ratchet up the excuses even if a Black Swan event did somehow cause your delay.
    — Mark Antonio Wright, National Review, 25 Apr. 2021
  • Jonathan confesses that her sob story evokes nothing in him.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2021
  • McKinney played out a sob story about his wife leaving him for his brother.
    — oregonlive.com, 20 June 2019
  • Bluntly, a great personal essay should be a bit of a sob story, but this is something many Africans will struggle to do well.
    — Ciku Kimeria, Quartz, 6 Apr. 2022
  • Emily has a hell of a sob story, though her natural discretion and refusal of self-pity keep it from sounding like one.
    — Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2022
  • Unfortunately for them, the host wasn't having any of their sob story though, and brutally shut down their claims.
    — Amy MacKelden, Marie Claire, 26 Mar. 2018
  • Andy’s backstory elevates the book above a sob story–but redemption, recovery and hope remain the name of the game.
    — Sarah Begley, Time, 29 Mar. 2018
  • Blue tears drip down my face, like some kind of SciFi sob story, while the formula neutralizes any hints of yellow or redness.
    — Kaitlin Phillips, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2020
  • Yuudai’s sob story touched Shion, who’s now vowed to always ask Yuudai to prepare meals for him, all in the name of practice.
    — Mariah Smith, The Cut, 2 Apr. 2018
  • But this is not a sob story, or autism explainer, or an after-school special about tolerance.
    — Los Angeles Times, 18 Nov. 2021
  • And it was all based on one arguably minor facet of an actual woman’s complex life: her use of fake names and fake sob stories to get public benefits.
    — Bryce Covert, The New Republic, 2 July 2019
  • Plus, the tag only affected a handful of players each year and, ultimately, a guaranteed top-of-the-line one-year contract is far from a sob story.
    — Jacob Feldman, SI.com, 23 Feb. 2018
  • The decision to block the spread of the Post story sets a troubling precedent, and also serves as a gift to conservatives peddling a bogus sob story about being suppressed by Big Tech.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 16 Oct. 2020
  • Someone may use a sob story or a guilt trip to pressure you into handling their responsibilities for them.
    — oregonlive, 17 Apr. 2020
  • NoisyAstronomer: UFOs, contact w/ spirits, and anyone's sob story.
    — Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 31 Dec. 2010
  • Mine is an all-too-common cosmetic sob story for many elder millennials and Gen X’ers—Chrissy Teigen has aired her own similar saga.
    — Michelle Ruiz, Vogue, 23 Mar. 2023
  • Now Trump might spin this sob story as evidence that more offshored manufacturing should return home.
    — Catherine Rampell, The Denver Post, 30 June 2019
  • Neither does Helen who is uninterested in Wendy’s sob stories about her brother.
    — Shannon Carlin, refinery29.com, 30 Mar. 2020
  • Attempting to escape her, Sally encounters another nightmare creature, who bilks her of much of her small stash of money with a sob story that’s clearly bogus.
    — Mary Gordon, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2017
  • Hollywood loves a good sob story, even if it's nestled within a perfectly innocuous children's film (looking at you, Toy Story 3).
    — refinery29.com, 21 Nov. 2021
  • In the movie’s emotional and thematic centerpiece scene, Dickie visits him at Christmas and reveals his latest sob story (changing it to claim Giuseppina died of pneumonia), only for Sal to again look right through him.
    — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2021
  • Ahead of her audition, Gabby launches into a now-familiar sob story about her dad cleaning toilets, and her family not having much money.
    — Robbie Daw, Billboard, 26 Mar. 2018
  • Acknowledging people with disabilities is neither a charitable act nor even the basis of a compelling sob story.
    — Caroline Casey, Fortune, 2 Aug. 2022
  • Regardless of her sob story, Alina remains righteously angry at her former attendant.
    — Nick Schager, EW.com, 23 Apr. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sob story.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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