noun / adjective
mourning
MOR-ning/ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/
Grief after someone's death and its expression.
The young man's mourning is visible as he stands beside the grave.
Etymology
Murnan covered sorrow, regret, and longing more broadly. Mourning names that grieving activity, with the selected sense focusing on sorrow felt or publicly expressed after a death.
In context
Mourning was an act of respect and a ritual. Every stitch, every veil, every shade of gray told the world how deeply someone was missed.
More examples
- The family wore mourning clothes.
- Several days of mourning followed the leader's death.
- She needed time for private mourning.
Forms
mourning
Similar words
- grief
- The feeling of loss rather than its formal or public expression.
- bereavement
- Bereavement names the state of having lost someone rather than the expression of grief.