mourn Hear it!

mourn Definition

mourn (môrn)

intransitive verb

  1. to feel or express sorrow; lament; grieve
  2. to grieve for someone who has died; specif., to manifest the conventional signs of such grief, as by wearing black clothes
  3. to make the low, continuous sound of a dove

Etymology: ME mournen < OE murnan; akin to Goth *maúrnan, to be anxious < IE base *(s)mer-, to remember: see merit

transitive verb

  1. to feel or express sorrow for (something regrettable)
  2. to grieve for (someone who has died)
  3. to utter in a manner expressing sorrow
mourn Synonyms

mourn

v.

  1. To lament

    deplore, grieve, fret, sorrow, rue, regret, bemoan, sigh, long for, miss, droop, languish, yearn, ache, pine, anguish, complain, agonize, repine, weep over, weep, bewail, suffer, wring one's hands, be brokenhearted, be in distress, be sad, beat one's breast, take on*.

    Antonyms celebrate*, rejoice*, be happy.

  2. To cry

    sob, wail, moan; see cry.

mourn Usage Examples

Object

  • passing: I may mourn the passing of an easier, more trusting age.
  • dove: Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura Fairly common, small numbers seen every day.
  • demise: It seems no one was mourning the demise of the man who made Labor electable.
  • loss: We all mourn the loss of a gallant comrade.
  • death: Not many people will mourn the death of Queen Mary.
  • ritual: The cycle ends in death where specific mourning rituals are carried out by the relatives.

Preposition: over

  • sin: Do you mourn over the sins of those around you?
  • body: Him asking the girls mourning over the body of their dead friend in the above scene was hilarious.

Modifying Another Word

  • deeply: His death forty-five years ago, was deeply mourned by the entire humanity on a scale unprecedented in the history of human beings.
  • greatly: Those who knew her well will greatly mourn her passing.
  • deep: Presently a lady dressed in deep mourning passed along.
  • properly: There's a yawning gap in your life but you can't mourn properly because you're trying to find an answer.
  • still: I still mourn some of the books I liked not being included on the long list.
  • widely: A national hero in five countries, his passing was widely mourned.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • over: Let the day go by; why should we mourn over that?

Used with why or when

  • when: Rejoice because the resurrection of your son, whom you mourned when he suffered death, is resplendent.
  • what: I mourn what has happened to independent midwives with the refusal by the RCM to ensure them.

Preposition: for

  • victim: Spain will hold a day of mourning for the victims Friday.
  • loss: I found the princess mourning for the loss of her husband.
  • day: Achilles then mourns for 12 days until the gods create him new armor.
mourn Quotes

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs isthe kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessedarethepeacemakers: for theyshall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness'sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessedare ye, whenmenshall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

—Bible (NewTestament)

Man's inhumanity to Man Makes countless thousands mourn!

—Burns, Robert

It is the blight man was born for, It is Margaret you mourn for.

—Hopkins, SirAnthony

When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, And the great star early droop'd in the western sky in the night, I mourn'd, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.

—Whitman,Walt(er)

   He has out-soared the shadow of our night; Envyand calumnyand hate and pain, And that unrest which men miscall delight, Can touch him not and torture not again; From the contagion of the world's slow stain He is secure, and now can never mourn A heart grown cold, a head grown grey in vain.

—Shelley, Percy Bysshe

Care-charmer Sleep, son of the sable Night, Brother to Death, in silent darkness born, Relieve my languish and restore the light; With dark forgetting of my care return. And let the day be time enough to mourn The shipwreck of my ill adventured youth: Let waking eyes suffice to wail their scorn Without the torment of the night's untruth.

—Daniel, Samuel

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Atimeto be born, and atimeto die; atimetoplant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; Atimetoweep, and atimeto laugh; atimetomourn, and a time to dance: A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

—Bible (Old Testament)