Adjacent Words

Sorrow definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SOR'ROW, n. The uneasiness or pain of mind which is produced by the loss of any good. or of frustrated hopes of good, or expected loss of happiness; to grieve; to be sad. I rejoice not that ye were made sorry, but the ye sorrowed to repentance. I Cor. 7. Sorrowing most of all for the words which be spoke, that they should see his face no more. Acts 20.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement; "he tried to express his sorrow at her loss" [ant: joy, joyfulness, joyousness]
2: sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment; "he drank to drown his sorrows"; "he wrote a note expressing his regret"; "to his rue, the error cost him the game" [syn: sorrow, regret, rue, ruefulness]
3: something that causes great unhappiness; "her death was a great grief to John" [syn: grief, sorrow]
4: the state of being sad; "she tired of his perpetual sadness" [syn: sadness, sorrow, sorrowfulness] v
1: feel grief [syn: grieve, sorrow]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English sorow, from Old English sorg; akin to Old High German sorga sorrow Date: before 12th century 1. a. deep distress, sadness, or regret especially for the loss of someone or something loved b. resultant unhappy or unpleasant state <to their great sorrow they could not marry> 2. a cause of grief or sadness 3. a display of grief or sadness Synonyms: sorrow, grief, anguish, woe, regret 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>. grief implies poignant sorrow for an immediate cause <the inexpressible grief of the bereaved parents>. anguish suggests torturing grief or dread <the anguish felt by the parents of the kidnapped child>. woe is deep or inconsolable grief or misery <cries of woe echoed throughout the bombed city>. regret implies pain caused by deep disappointment, fruitless longing, or unavailing remorse <nagging regret for missed opportunities>. II. intransitive verb Date: before 12th century to feel or express sorrow • sorrower noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 mental distress caused by loss or disappointment etc. 2 a cause of sorrow. 3 lamentation. --v.intr. 1 feel sorrow. 2 mourn. Derivatives: sorrower n. sorrowing adj. Etymology: OE sorh, sorg

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sorrow Sor"row, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sorrowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Sorrowing.] [OE. sorowen, sorwen, sorhen, AS. sorgian; akin to Goth. sa['u]rgan. See Sorrow, n.] To feel pain of mind in consequence of evil experienced, feared, or done; to grieve; to be sad; to be sorry. Sorrowing most of all . . . that they should see his face no more. --Acts xx. 38. I desire no man to sorrow for me. --Sir J. Hayward.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sorrow Sor"row, n. [OE. sorwe, sorewe, sor?e, AS. sorg, sorh; akin to D. zorg care, anxiety, OS. sorga, OHG. sorga, soraga, suorga, G. sorge, Icel., Sw., & Dan. sorg, Goth. sa['u]rga; of unknown origin.] The uneasiness or pain of mind which is produced by the loss of any good, real or supposed, or by diseappointment in the expectation of good; grief at having suffered or occasioned evil; regret; unhappiness; sadness. --Milton. How great a sorrow suffereth now Arcite! --Chaucer. The safe and general antidote against sorrow is employment. --Rambler. Syn: Grief; unhappiness; regret; sadness; heaviness; mourning; affliction. See Affliction, and Grief.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Sorrow is a feeling of deep sadness or regret. It was a time of great sorrow... Words cannot express my sorrow.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sor'-o (chebhel, yaghon, makh'obh, etc.; lupe): The Old Testament has very many words translated "sorrow," those named being the most frequent; in the New Testament "sorrow" is usually the translation of lupe (Lu 22:45; Joh 16:6; 2Co 2:3,7, etc.). Penthos, translated "sorrow" in Re 18:7; 21:4, is in the Revised Version (British and American) "mourning." Odune, of pain-and distress, is thus rendered in Ro 9:2; 1Ti 6:10 (compare the verb in Lu 2:48; Ac 20:38). the Revised Version (British and American) frequently gives a more literal rendering of the words used, as "toil" (Ge 3:17), "pangs" (Ex 15:14), "pining" (De 28:65), "distress" (Isa 5:30), "lamentation" (Isa 29:2), etc.; sometimes also it uses "sorrow" for other words, as for "grief" (2Ch 6:29; Ps 31:10; 69:26; etc.; 2Co 2:5), "heaviness" (Ro 9:2; 2Co 2:1).

Sorrow or grief is necessary for discipline, for the development of the finer feelings and higher nature of the soul and spirit (Ec 7:3, "Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad," margin "better"). Sorrow inevitably follows sin, and is its punishment, yet the righteous are not exempt from it. The "Servant of Yahweh" was "a man of sorrows" (Isa 53:3). Christians learn how to be "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (2Co 6:10; 7:4; Col 1:24; 1Th 1:6; etc.). In the New Jerusalem it is predicted that there shall be no sorrow, for sorrow shall have done its work, and the first things have passed away (Re 21:4).

W. L. Walker

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Grief, sadness, affliction, mourning, trouble. 2. Regret, vexation, chagrin. II. v. n. Grieve, mourn, be sad, weep, lament, bemoan, bewail.

Moby Thesaurus

ache, adversity, afflict, affliction, aggrieve, agonize, agony, anguish, apologies, attrition, ayenbite of inwit, bad luck, bemoan, bemoaning, bewail, bewailing, bitter cup, bitter draft, bitter draught, bitter pill, bitterness, bleed, break down, bring to tears, brood over, burden, burden of care, cankerworm of care, care, cares, carking care, contriteness, contrition, cross, crown of thorns, crush, curse, cut up, dejection, deplore, depression, desolate, desolateness, desolation, dirge, discomfort, dismay, distress, dole, dolor, draw tears, elegize, embitter, encumbrance, fret, gall, gall and wormwood, give sorrow words, grief, grievance, grieve, grieving, groan, hard luck, hardship, heartache, heartbreak, heartfelt grief, heartgrief, howling, infliction, inundate, keen, keening, knell, lament, lamentation, lamenting, languishment, load, melancholy, misery, misfortune, moan, moaning, mope, mourn, mourning, oppress, oppression, overwhelm, pack of troubles, pain, peck of troubles, pine, pine away, pining, pressure, prostrate, prostration, regret, regretfulness, regrets, regretting, remorse, remorse of conscience, remorsefulness, repine, repining, rue, sadness, sea of troubles, shame, shamefacedness, shamefastness, shamefulness, sigh, sing the blues, sob, sorriness, sorrowfulness, sorrowing, strain, suffering, take on, thorn, torment, travail, trial, tribulation, trouble, ululation, unhappiness, wailing, waters of bitterness, weep over, weight, wistfulness, woe, wretchedness