lovelorn

adjective

love·​lorn ˈləv-ˌlȯrn How to pronounce lovelorn (audio)
: bereft of love or of a lover
letters from lovelorn soldiers
lovelornness noun

Examples of lovelorn in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This intention might have worked if Scott’s movie were trying to portray the complexity of greatness by depicting a conqueror who showed one face to his lover and another to his rivals or his soldiers — charismatic in the streets, embarrassing and lovelorn in the sheets. Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023 What's a lovelorn witch to do but help a handsome prince break the curse plaguing his life? Ew Staff, EW.com, 13 Sep. 2023 Woolf’s novel follows Orlando, an angsty, lovelorn young man born during the reign of Elizabeth I. Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Dec. 2023 Up Peter Sarsgaard, Memory Sarsgaard’s turn as a lovelorn dementia patient was a surprise Best Actor winner at Venice. Vulture, 3 Nov. 2023 The apartment is poised to go to Lisette, an artsy, lovelorn neighbor who’s undergoing some housing drama of her own, and in whom Carrie sees her younger self. Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2023 That movie features Zendaya as a lovelorn trapeze artist, a world away from Dicks, where the emotional pay-off comes as its main foursome traverses the New York City sewer system. Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Oct. 2023 Rackstraw was Ben, six, missing four teeth, up on the balcony, hoisting a sail topped with a Union Jack, and trying to look at once wistful, lovelorn, and patriotic. Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2023 The occasion gives audiences plenty to savor over the course of about 2 hours and 40 minutes in Signature’s larger theater, the Max, even if the story of lovelorn Francesca (Erin Davie) and heartthrob Robert (Mark Evans) seems to tumble out of the gauzy, shopworn pages of a Harlequin romance. Peter Marks, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lovelorn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1637, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lovelorn was in 1637

Dictionary Entries Near lovelorn

Cite this Entry

“Lovelorn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lovelorn. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

lovelorn

adjective
love·​lorn ˈləv-ˌlȯ(ə)rn How to pronounce lovelorn (audio)
: deprived of or deserted by one's lover

More from Merriam-Webster on lovelorn

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