dirgelike

adjective

as in elegiac

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dirgelike
  1. elegiac
  2. melancholy
  3. wailing
  4. lamentable
  5. aching
  6. sorrowful
  7. funeral
  8. doleful
Adjective
  • Painful memories force her to confront first her own choices, then personal grief and finally, the family secrets that provide the novel’s distinctly elegiac and holistic tone.
    — Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The elegiac poems in The Man with Night Sweats are sharper, plainer, starker than Gunn’s early formal poems.
    — Colm Tóibín, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of elegiac
Adjective
  • Perhaps that doubt is the secret melancholy at the heart of even their most seemingly celebratory songs.
    — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026
  • To be born whole again into the world, a new world—a world without melancholy.
    — Daniel Barnum, Longreads, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of melancholy
Adjective
  • Sitting opposite an old people’s home in a residential corner of Paris’ 14th arrondissement, La Santé’s unassuming presence is only given away by the occasional wailing siren as prisoners are transported to and from the site.
    — Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Definition of wailing
Adjective
  • The diminishing role of the federal government in addressing this crisis is lamentable.
    — Monitor Reader, Christian Science Monitor, 28 July 2026
  • Still furious at her mother, Natalie tentatively chooses to believe Cady but takes a gun along just in case, which turns out to be another lamentable decision.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 10 July 2026
Definition of lamentable
Adjective
  • The homestretch of the drama, however, takes the story in a chilling direction, packing an aching quantity of feeling into a single glance at a security camera as someone climbs into a car and leaves the compound, never to be heard from again.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 26 May 2026
  • Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (1997) Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain is an aching, tender slow burn shaped by absence.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
Definition of aching
Adjective
  • Filmed here in 2005, the video sees frontman Gerard Way belt the sorrowful lyrics at the front of church with his bandmates and a group of dancers around him.
    — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Elsewhere around the town square, feelings range from cautious to noncommittal, from sorrowful to suspicious.
    — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of sorrowful
Adjective
  • The broadcaster reported that more than a hundred people had gathered in and around the church for a funeral procession.
    — Mohamad El Chamaa, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Talking about wills, medical wishes, funeral arrangements or who will handle the finances if a parent becomes incapacitated can feel intrusive, particularly when a parent is still healthy and independent.
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of funeral
Adjective
  • Langley’s voice, which is emotive but steady, seems unusually well suited to this sort of doleful yearning.
    — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Measles is the canary in the coal mine for vaccination and public health, and at this moment, the canary is singing a doleful tune.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2026
Definition of doleful
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Dirgelike.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dirgelike. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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