tearful

adjective

ˈtir-fəl How to pronounce tearful (audio)
Definition of tearfulnext
Enter your own sentence containing tearful , and get words to replace it.
loading
1
as in emotional
given to expressing strong emotion (as sorrow) by readily shedding tears a tearful woman who can be counted on to cry at every wedding, anniversary, and funeral

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
causing unhappiness the tearful end to what had once been a close friendship

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 tearful Or a tearful Villanova piccolo player soldiering through in the wake of a loss. — Joe Rexrode, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025 In another post, Chopra shared a tearful emoji and a heart-smiling emoji over a photo of the musical's official Playbill. — Dave Quinn, People.com, 21 Mar. 2025 Drummond ends up dead, Mark uses his tie, stained with Drummond's blood, to gain access to the room where Gemma has been ordered to disassemble a baby’s crib, and the couple have a tearful reunion and head for the exits. — Gary Levin, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025 In a night full of tearful pauses, Yates and the designer Rosanna Vize, one of the show’s four creators, also find several ways to produce a sense of farce. — Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tearful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tearful
  1. emotional
  2. sad
  3. weeping
  4. depressing
  5. pathetic
  6. teary
  7. mournful
  8. weepy
Adjective
  • It wasn’t scripted that Robby gets emotional and breaks down at [that] particular point in the speech….
    — Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Just before the game, the franchise honored him with a video tribute, and Dončić became emotional.
    — Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 10 Apr. 2025
Definition of emotional
Adjective
  • Kwong grew up hearing stories of every kind about Manzanar—scary, sad, funny and infuriating.
    — Rachel Ng, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Yet, whatever the deal means for Paul, Weiss, its acquiescence to Trump marks a sad day for the legal profession—or what once was a profession, and is now just another business.
    — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2025
Definition of sad
Adjective
  • And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.
    — David Mamet, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022
  • The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.
    — Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021
Definition of weeping
Adjective
  • Some people thought that was too depressing or whatever.
    — Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Many learned the depressing answer only when trying to scan badges and getting rejected by security, which treated them more or less like trespassers.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 5 Apr. 2025
Definition of depressing
Adjective
  • One of the most pathetic symbols of the new manosphere is Mark Zuckerberg.
    — Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Michael Gandolfini pops up as a slimy Fisk mayoral staffer who wouldn’t look out of place in this magazine’s recent cover featuring the new young right, and his playing both pathetic and vaguely sympathetic is very fun to watch.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
Definition of pathetic
Adjective
  • At a panel following a finale watch party here, Wood was teary, taking sips of water.
    — Charles Trepany, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Jamie’s phone-call confession sends Eddie into a teary existential crisis, one that ends with Eddie in Jamie’s bedroom, where his teen son tumbled down the social-media rabbit hole and peed his pants when cops came to arrest him.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2025
Definition of teary
Adjective
  • Demons have extra depth from noises that range between tortured and mournful.
    — Matt Gardner, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025
  • One aspect is the story that is told, which is a very mournful story of a mother losing a child and then abandoning herself to the river as the child was.
    — Nick Romano, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2025
Definition of mournful
Adjective
  • The music icon confessed to getting weepy about aging during a bonus episode of the podcast Smartless, which was released to subscribers on Tuesday, March 25 — John's 78th birthday.
    — Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 25 Mar. 2025
  • Zoe Saldaña got weepy and impassioned in an acceptance speech that honored her immigrant parents as well as her Dominican heritage.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 3 Mar. 2025
Definition of weepy

Browse Nearby Words

teardrops
tearful
tearing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tearful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tearful. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on tearful

Nglish: Translation of tearful for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See More

Popular

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

8 Words with Fascinating Histories
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a game of hangman on lined paper
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All