mourn

[mawrn, mohrn]

verb (used without object)

1. to feel or express sorrow or grief.

   Synonyms: bemoan, bewail
   Antonyms: rejoice, laugh

2. to grieve or lament for the dead.

3. to show the conventional or usual signs of sorrow over a person's death.

verb (used with object)

1. to feel or express sorrow or grief over (misfortune, loss, or anything regretted); deplore.

2. to grieve or lament over (the dead).

3. to utter in a sorrowful manner.

mourn

/ mɔːn /

verb

1. to feel or express sadness for the death or loss of (someone or something)

2. (intr) to observe the customs of mourning, as by wearing black

3. (tr) to grieve over (loss or misfortune)

Other Word Forms

• overmourn verb
• unmourned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mourn¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English mo(u)rnen, Old English murnan; cognate with Old High German mornēn, Old Norse morna, Gothic maurnan

Word History and Origins

Origin of mourn¹

Old English murnan; compare Old High German mornēn to be troubled, Gothic maurnan to grieve, Greek mermeros worried

Synonym Study

See grieve.

Example Sentences

In a sense, Sweeney writes Dennis as someone also mourning the death of an idealized situation he thought would fix him.

From Los Angeles Times

Others around the church also mourned the loss of friends and tried to process what had happened.

From BBC

Many Spurs fans will not mourn the latest developments but there are two sides to the Levy story.

From BBC

Portugal is in mourning after at least 17 people died and some 20 more were injured when Lisbon's famous funicular cable railway derailed on Wednesday evening.

From BBC

Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas has declared three days of municipal mourning for the victims of the incident.

From BBC

Related Words

• ache 
• agonize 
• bemoan 
• complain 
• cry 
• deplore 
• fret 
• grieve 
• lament 
• moan 
• regret 
• sob 
• wail 
• weep 
• yearn