- in tears; crying
- on the verge of tears
- tending to shed tears; weepy
- causing tears or apt to cause tears; sad; pathetic
A tearful woman.
- A person who sobs at movies all the time is an example of someone who is tearful.
- A sad goodbye is an example of a tearful goodbye.
The definition of tearful is someone who is crying or who cries often, or is something that causes crying.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"tearful." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tearful>.
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tearful. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tearful
tearful
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"tearful." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tearful>.
APA Style
tearful. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tearful
tearful
adjective
- Filled with or accompanied by tears: tearful eyes; a tearful farewell.
- So piteous as to excite tears: a tearful melodrama.
Related Forms:
- tear′ful·ly
adverb
- tear′ful·ness
noun
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"tearful." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tearful>.
APA Style
tearful. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tearful
Adjective
(comparative more tearful, superlative most tearful)
- accompanied by tears.
- Aaron was a little tearful until Laura came to reassure him.
- sorrowful.
Origin
tear +"Ž -ful
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"tearful." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tearful>.
APA Style
tearful. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Tearful
Sentence Examples
- Tabloids reported that her first days were tearful, as Paris was only allowed one hour each day away from the confines of her cell.
- Other times, both men and women will talk of their high school boyfriends and girlfriends, and once the alcohol starts flowing, viewers get tearful admissions of cheating or still being in love.
- The spirit of more simple and innocent times live on through the movie's soundtrack, a classic mixture of '50s do wop, tearful love songs, and old time rock-n-roll.
- After telling a tearful Jenni good-bye and contemplating the ring in his jacket after her departure, the audience was led to believe he'd propose to Deanna.
- This is the first time the married couples have seen each other in two weeks, so in some cases it involves tearful reunions and promises of renewed love.
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