mournful
mourn·ful/ˈmɔɹnfəl/adjective
mournful is spelled M-O-U-R-N-F-U-L: 8 letters and 2 syllables (mourn·ful). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, mournful means “Filled with grief or sadness; being in a state in which one mourns” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in mournful?
| Letters | 8: M-O-U-R-N-F-U-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: mourn·ful |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is mournful?
Mournful appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce mournful?
- US /ˈmɔɹnfəl/
- UK /ˈmɔːnfəl/
- /ˈmo(ː)ɹnfəl/
Mournful has 2 syllables, split mourn·ful in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-mournful.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with mournful?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as mournful from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹnfəl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of mournful
- mournfuller comparative
- more mournful comparative
- mournfullest superlative
- most mournful superlative
- mournfull
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mournful mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Filled with grief or sadness; being in a state in which one mourns.
- 2
Fit to inspire mourning; tragic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mournful in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense filled with grief or sadness:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | affligé, éploré, mélancolique, lugubre, funèbre, morne |
| Portuguese | pesaroso |
| Spanish | melancólico, lastimero, lutoso, luctuoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does mournful come from?
From mourn + -ful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).