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sorrow

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word sorrow different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of sorrow are anguish, grief, regret, and woe. While all these words mean "distress of mind," sorrow implies a sense of loss or a sense of guilt and remorse.

a family united in sorrow upon the patriarch's death

When might anguish be a better fit than sorrow?

While in some cases nearly identical to sorrow, anguish suggests torturing grief or dread.

the anguish felt by the parents of the kidnapped child

When is it sensible to use grief instead of sorrow?

The synonyms grief and sorrow are sometimes interchangeable, but grief implies poignant sorrow for an immediate cause.

the inexpressible grief of the bereaved parents

When would regret be a good substitute for sorrow?

In some situations, the words regret and sorrow are roughly equivalent. However, regret implies pain caused by deep disappointment, fruitless longing, or unavailing remorse.

nagging regret for missed opportunities

When can woe be used instead of sorrow?

The words woe and sorrow can be used in similar contexts, but woe is deep or inconsolable grief or misery.

cries of woe echoed throughout the bombed city

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sorrow
Verb
As the story of SoulShine's contribution made its way onto the news and social media, people expressed appreciation for Garem and the company's creative contributions –and sorrow that the task was required. Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 1 June 2022 As Russia celebrated its most emotional holiday commemorating the Nazi defeat in World War II, Putin appeared in Red Square to invoke pride and sorrow over the Soviet role then and to cast Russia’s battles in Ukraine now as such a just cause. Washington Post, 9 May 2022
Noun
Individual grief, so entwined with intergenerational sorrow, can feel like an inheritance passed down to harden the heart. Rachel Sherman, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2025 Residents gathered in Hostages Square, outside Israel's defense headquarters, as sorrow set in across the country. Chris Kenning, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sorrow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sorrow
Verb
  • Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $29) Two grieving brothers come to terms with their history.
    The California Independent Booksellers Alliance, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025
  • With a tone that recalls Quentin Tarantino, The English tells the tale of a grieving mother (Emily Blunt) and a member of the Pawnee Nation (Chaske Spencer) who are forced into an allyship to survive a brutal journey.
    Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Fox Valley Hands of Hope has provided grief support to adults, children and families in the area since 1981, with no charge for services, the release noted.
    Aurora Beacon-News, Chicago Tribune, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Death Takes Me, instead, suggests that personal grief and political anger can find expression, too, through ambiguity and irony—and even laughter.
    Nicolás Medina Mora, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • On Sunday, Battle’s cousins mourned in a relative’s apartment about a half-mile away from the shooting scene.
    John Annese, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2025
  • Another video geolocated by CNN showed women mourning among the bodies of at least twenty men in civilian clothes who appear to have been shot dead in a village near the town of al Jinderiyah.
    Eyad Kourdi, CNN, 7 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The first Trump Administration didn’t deliver many material gains to the rural poor—deaths of despair continued to rise, and wages continued to stagnate—but at least Trump spoke to their anguish and seemed outraged on their behalf.
    Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
  • Garcia’s damages included physical pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, inconvenience, grief, disfigurement, physical impairment, anxiety and emotional distress, according to a recording of the verdict from Courtroom View Network.
    Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • As Frank speaks, Rick is aching to satisfy his desire for revenge in what Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) correctly identifies as a ridiculous, Princess Bride-style plot to kill the man who killed his father.
    Judy Berman, TIME, 17 Mar. 2025
  • To them, his bruised, brooding ballads are a repository for all of those deeply intense feelings that blossom in early adulthood: first love, shattering heartbreak, throbbing loneliness, desperate regret, aching nostalgia.
    Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Meanwhile, seven major champions, including Lowry, Clark, McIlroy, Day and Bradley, will vie for one of the golf’s biggest prizes and a $4 million winner’s purse during a weekend rarely lacking in a drama and heartbreak at Bay Hill.
    Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Even in the midst of heartbreak, her dad managed to bring humor into the situation.
    William Lambers, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Above them, burned forever in my memory, a sighing woman in white, legs bound, reclines on top of a pillar.
    Lisa Brown, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025
  • The flight attendant sighed, took a step back without leaving the scene, busied himself with brushing invisible crumbs off his uniform.
    Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 17 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Sorrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sorrow. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

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