5
dismal(adjective, sad, sorrow, depression, woe)
5
down hearted(adjective, sad, unhappy, dark, sorrow)
5
dumpish(adjective, sad, unhappy, dark, sorrow)
5
elegiac(adjective, sad, unhappy, sorrow, suffer)
5
grieved(adjective, sad, sorrow, depression, woe)
5
ruthful(adjective, sad, unhappy, sorrow, depression)
5
wailful(adjective, sad, unhappy, sorrow, depression)
5
whiny(difficult, critical, sour, discontented, uptight)
4
distressing(adjective, sad, unhappy, sorrow, suffer)
4
down in the dumps(adjective, sad, unhappy, sorrow, suffer)
4
grief-stricken(adjective, sad, sorrowful, pathetic, mournful)
4
melancholic(adjective, sad, unhappy, sorrow, suffer)
4
somber(adjective, sad, dark, sorrow, depression)
4
sorrowing(sad, mournful, lamentation, grief-stricken)
4
tragic(adjective, sad, sorrow, depression, woe)
4
unfortunate(adjective, sad, dark, sorrow, depression)
4
wailing(adjective, difficult, critical, sorrowful, pathetic)
3
afflictive(adjective, sad, sorrow, depression, woe)
3
all-a-mort(adjective, sad, unhappy, sorrow, depression)
3
comfortless(adjective, sad, dark, sorrow, depression)
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APASmart Define. (2015). plaintive thesaurus. Retrieved September 23, 2026, from https://smartdefine.org/plaintive/thesaurus/synonyms
ChicagoSmart Define. 2015. "plaintive thesaurus" https://smartdefine.org/plaintive/thesaurus/synonyms (accessed September 23, 2026).
HarvardSmart Define 2015, plaintive thesaurus, Smart Define, viewed 23 September, 2026, <https://smartdefine.org/plaintive/thesaurus/synonyms>.
MLASmart Define. "plaintive thesaurus" 14 April 2015. Web. 23 September 2026. <https://smartdefine.org/plaintive/thesaurus/synonyms>