mourning

[mawr-ning, mohr-]

noun

1. the act of a person who mourns; sorrowing or lamentation.

   Antonyms: rejoicing

2. the conventional manifestation of sorrow for a person's death, especially by the wearing of black clothes or a black armband, the hanging of flags at half-mast, etc.

3. the outward symbols of such sorrow, as black garments.

4. the period or interval during which a person grieves or formally expresses grief, as by wearing black garments.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or used in mourning.

mourning

/ ˈmɔːnɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or feelings of one who mourns; grief

2. the conventional symbols of grief, such as the wearing of black

3. the period of time during which a death is officially mourned

4. observing the conventions of mourning

adjective

1. of or relating to mourning

Other Word Forms

• mourningly adverb
• unmourning adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mourning¹

before 900; Middle English (noun, adj.); Old English murnung (noun). See mourn, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

In a sense, Sweeney writes Dennis as someone also mourning the death of an idealized situation he thought would fix him.

From Los Angeles Times

Portugal is in mourning after at least 17 people died and some 20 more were injured when Lisbon's famous funicular cable railway derailed on Wednesday evening.

From BBC

Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas has declared three days of municipal mourning for the victims of the incident.

From BBC

A day of mourning is being observed in Kyiv after the second biggest Russian aerial attack of the war so far killed at least 23 people, including four children, and injured dozens of others.

From BBC

Friends and members of the fishing community along the West Coast and in Alaska are mourning the loss of Kawahara, whom they described as an experienced, meticulous fisherman.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• grief