Plaintive and Sorrowful

Plaintive

Plaintive adjective - Expressing or suggesting mourning.
Usage example: the puppy's plaintive expression after we put the toy away was rather amusing

Sorrowful is a synonym for plaintive in mournful topic. In some cases you can use "Sorrowful" instead an adjective "Plaintive", when it comes to topics like sad, pathetic, happy. popular alternative

Nearby Words: plaint, plaintively

Sorrowful

Sorrowful adjective - Expressing or suggesting mourning.
Usage example: adopted a sorrowful tone of voice to read the news story about the former governor's death

Plaintive is a synonym for sorrowful in sad topic. You can use "Plaintive" instead an adjective "Sorrowful", if it concerns topics such as mournful, grieving, happy. popular alternative

Cite this Source
Sorrowful and Plaintive. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/plaintive/sorrowful
Plaintive & Sorrowful. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/plaintive/sorrowful>.
Sorrowful or Plaintive. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/plaintive/sorrowful.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "plaintive" and "sorrowful" have occurred on timeline