mourn

verb

mourned; mourning; mourns

intransitive verb

1
: to feel or express grief or sorrow
When he dies, people throughout the world will mourn.
2
: to show the customary signs of grief for a death
especially : to wear mourning
mourned for thirty days in black clothes
3
: to murmur mournfully
used especially of doves

transitive verb

1
: to feel or express grief or sorrow for
mourned the death of his son
2
: to utter mournfully
let the whirlwind mourn its requiemW. S. Gilbert
mourner noun
mourningly adverb

Examples of mourn in a Sentence

She is still mourning her husband, who died last year. Thousands of people mourned his death. She was mourned by everyone who knew her. She mourned the loss of her youth. He still mourns the fact that he never went to college.
Recent Examples on the Web Fellow musicians who shared spaces and stages with her, from Garbage’s Shirley Manson to Lone Justice’s Maria McKee, mourned McCluskey’s loss on social media. Chris Willman, Variety, 15 Mar. 2024 Cole Hauser is mourning the death of his mother, Cass Warner. Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 14 Mar. 2024 Movies Regina King pours her heart, soul and a career’s worth of black women’s experiences into ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ Dec. 12, 2018 Two years away allowed King to mourn and come to terms with her son’s death. Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024 Many people are continuing to mourn relatives and spouses who died of Covid or of complications from the coronavirus. Julie Bosman, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 His death last month in prison leaves that opposition – who came out in large numbers to mourn at his funeral early this month – without any unifying figure to rally around. Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Mar. 2024 He was mourned by thousands at a funeral last week. Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024 On Friday, Day and a small group gathered outside the Independence Police Department headquarters to remember, mourn, and honor the two men killed. Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 2 Mar. 2024 Thousands took to the streets in Moscow, braving not only snow but heavy security, to mourn the death of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in a Russian prison last month. Peter Suciu, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English murnan; akin to Old High German mornēn to mourn, Greek mermēra care — more at memory

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mourn was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near mourn

Cite this Entry

“Mourn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mourn. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mourn

verb
ˈmō(ə)rn How to pronounce mourn (audio)
ˈmȯ(ə)rn
1
: to feel or show grief or sorrow especially over someone's death
2
: to display the customary signs of grief for a death especially by wearing mourning
mourner noun

More from Merriam-Webster on mourn

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