mournfulmourn‧ful /ˈmɔːnfəl $ ˈmɔːrn-/ adjective 
Examples
Durant was thin, mournful and silent. the slow, mournful music of the bagpipes► see thesaurus at sad—mournfully adverb
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- His voice sounded so mournful that tears came into her eyes.
- I could hear the slow, mournful music of the bagpipes.
- slow, mournful music
- The dog lay at his feet, looking up from time to time with big mournful eyes.
- And their public comments had a mournful tone.
- Beneath her the river snaked silver amongst the rushes and meadowsweet and a buzzard circling on high gave its own mournful cry.
- He ate his tiny ration of cereal in mournful slow motion, to illustrate his unhappiness.
- He was at the graveside looking mournful and interesting.
- I imagined him pulling mournful drones out of the ancient double-reed pipe.
- She even seems to root for him, in a mournful and bitter way.
- You get these crackpot ideas about helping people who come along to you with a mournful tale.
THESAURUS► sad
very sad: not happy: · She felt sad as she waved goodbye.· a sad and lonely figure· a sad face· a sad film
► unhappy sad, especially for a long time – used about people and periods of time: · I was unhappy at school.· an unhappy childhood· He’s obviously a deeply unhappy person.
► homesick [not before noun] sad because you are away from your home, family, and friends: · She sometimes felt homesick when she first arrived in Japan.
► down [not before noun] informal feeling sad for a few hours or days, often for no reason: · Whenever I’m feeling down, I go out and buy myself some new clothes.· She’s been kind of down since that argument with Jack.
► gloomy looking or sounding sad and without hope – used about people, places, and weather: · Why are you all looking so gloomy?· the gloomy immigration office· a gloomy afternoon in February
► dejected/downcast looking sad and disappointed because something you hoped for did not happen: · ‘I didn’t pass,’ he said, looking dejected.· a downcast expression· He was understandably downcast after the team’s loss.
► mournful especially literary looking or sounding sad: · the dog’s big mournful eyes· the mournful sound of the church bell· a mournful expression
► glum looking sad and disappointed: · Don’t look so glum! Maybe you’ll win next time.· They sat in glum silence.
► wistful especially literary looking a little sad and thoughtful, because you wish that the situation was different: · She looked at him with a wistful smile.
Longman Language Activatorfeeling sad or unhappy► sad not happy, especially because a happy time has ended, or because you feel sorry about someone else's unhappiness: · She felt sad as she waved goodbye.· Don't look so sad! It won't be long until the next holidays.· There was such a sad look in her eyes.sad to see/hear/learn etc: · We were very sad to hear about Mrs Humphrey's death.sad to do something: · I was glad to be going home, but sad to leave all my friends.sad about: · It's natural to feel sad about it when your children finally leave home.
► unhappy not happy, because you are in a situation, job, or relationship that you do not enjoy at all, and it seems likely to continue: · Neil was very unhappy at school.· Her parents' divorce left her feeling confused and unhappydesperately/deeply unhappy (=very unhappy): · She was desperately unhappy after Sean left her.unhappy about: · I felt so unhappy about what he had said that I just sat down and cried.
► upset unhappy because something unpleasant or disappointing has happened, so that you feel shocked or you want to cry: · Don't be upset. I'm sure she didn't mean to be unkind.· The children were very upset when we told them that we wouldn't be going to Disneyland.get upset: · We'd better not tell Mum about what's happened. She'll only get upset.upset about: · Liz is very upset about her uncle's death.upset that: · "What's the matter with Rod?" "I think he's still upset that we forgot his birthday."
► miserable extremely unhappy, because of the situation you are in, especially because you are lonely, hungry, cold etc: · He sat all alone in his room, thoroughly miserable.· The poor miserable animals were starving, dirty and wet.· All the staff seemed to look miserable and the atmosphere was not at all pleasant.
► homesick unhappy because you are away from your home, your family, and your friends, and you wish you were back there: · My sister was very homesick when she first went to college.· They were both gazing out of the window like a couple of homesick kids.· Most people get homesick the first time they leave home.homesick for: · Sampras confessed that he was homesick for America after five weeks in Europe.
► dejected sad and disappointed because something you hoped for did not happen - use this especially when this is shown in the way that someone looks, sounds etc: · He looked utterly dejected when she told him he'd failed again.· Greg sounded dejected. "Anything wrong?" I said.· One glance at the doctor's dejected expression answered my question.· Kirkwood was a particularly dejected figure after their defeat.
► downcast sad or disappointed because of a situation or because something you hoped for did not happen: · Jamie seems very downcast at the moment. He misses Jenny terribly.· "You mustn't be downcast" he said. "You can always try again."· The photograph of her sitting on her own made her look lonely and downcast.
► glum/gloomy informal sad because something slightly bad has happened or you do not have much hope for the future: · Don't look so glum! Things aren't as bad as all that.· Monday morning? Feeling glum ?· Sorry to be gloomy. I've had a bit of a bad day.· The doctor was a tall gloomy Scotsman.· The glum expression on the England manager's face said it all.· Why are you in such a gloomy mood?
► wistful someone who looks wistful has a slightly sad and thoughtful expression on their face, especially because they are thinking about the past or want something they cannot have: · Simon's face grew wistful as he thought about his happy student days.· She looked at them with a wistful smile. "I wish I could go with you.''
► mournful looking or sounding very sad, as if something very bad has happened: · His voice sounded so mournful that tears came into her eyes.· I could hear the slow, mournful music of the bagpipes.· The dog lay at his feet, looking up from time to time with big mournful eyes.
Durant was thin, mournful and silent. the slow, mournful music of the bagpipes► see thesaurus at sad—mournfully adverb