Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for tearful

tearful

[ teer-fuhl ]

adjective

  1. full of tears; tear; weeping.
  2. causing tears: tear:

    the tearful story of his poverty.



tearful

/ ˈtɪəfʊl /

adjective

  1. about to cry
  2. accompanying or indicative of weeping

    a tearful expression

  3. tending to produce tears; sad


Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˈtearfulness, noun
  • ˈtearfully, adverb

Discover More

Other Words From

  • tearful·ly adverb
  • tearful·ness noun
  • half-tearful adjective
  • half-tearful·ly adverb
  • half-tearful·ness noun

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of tearful1

First recorded in 1580–90; tear 1 + -ful

Discover More

Example Sentences

Dozens of tearful family members huddled at the Surabaya and Singapore airports, anxiously awaiting news of loved ones.

Attacked on Twitter and by outraged columnists for promoting sexism, Taylor issued a tearful public apology.

“We lost five members of the family and about 20 kids became orphans,” he said, in a tearful phone interview.

A few days after his arrest, she paid him a tearful visit at the West Side prison on Fifty fourth Street.

Standing on the pier was a crowd of tearful fans, dressed in their best flapper frocks.

Sick, trembling, her beautiful face humble and tearful enough now, she bent it on his shoulder in a shower of bitter tears.

I talked with the men in the bar, and later wandered into the parlor where the women were, some tearful, others indignant.

The poor, tearful desire lays a pale hand on reason's lips and gazes wistfully into the mysterious abyss of the Great Silence.

Great are the duties and tearful the days of a mother who has to raise her Son, who is also God, to be sacrificed on the cross.

Elizabeth turned her tearful face, smiling now, toward her cousin, but she said nothing.

Advertisement

Word of the Day

firkin

[fur-kin ]

Meaning and examples

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


tear ducttear gas