dolesome

From dole (“sorrow; grief”) +‎ -some.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdoʊlsəm/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdəʊlsəm/
• Rhymes: -əʊlsəm
• Hyphenation: dole‧some

dolesome (comparative more dolesome, superlative most dolesome)

1. doleful; dismal; gloomy.

   Synonyms: miserable, unhappy; see also Thesaurus:sad, Thesaurus:cheerless

   • 1973, Toni Morrison, Sula, Chatto & Windus (1993), page 17:

     The grandmother [...] raised her under the dolesome eyes of a multicoloured Virgin Mary.

• dolesomely
• dolesomeness

• “dolesome”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.