Filled with or evoking sadness:
— The child's doleful expression.

synonym: mournful.

Roget 837: cheerless, joyless, spiritless; uncheerful, uncheery^†; unlively^†; unhappy etc. 828; melancholy, dismal, somber, dark, gloomy, triste [Fr.], clouded, murky, lowering, frowning, lugubrious, funereal, mournful, lamentable, dreadful.    dreary, flat; dull, dull as a beetle, dull as ditchwater^†; depressing etc. v.. melancholy as a gib cat;" oppressed with melancholy, a prey to melancholy; downcast, downhearted; down in the mouth, down in one's luck; heavy-hearted; in the dumps, down in the dumps, in the suds, in the sulks, in the doldrums; in doleful dumps, in bad humor; sullen; mumpish^†, dumpish, mopish^†, moping; moody, glum; sulky etc. (discontented) 832; out of sorts, out of humor, out of heart, out of spirits; ill at ease, low spirited, in low spirits, a cup too low; weary etc. 841; discouraged, disheartened; desponding; chapfallen^†, chopfallen^†, jaw fallen, crest fallen.    sad, pensive, penseroso [It], tristful^†; dolesome^†, doleful; woebegone; lacrymose, lachrymose, in tears, melancholic, hypped^†, hypochondriacal, bilious, jaundiced, atrabilious^†, saturnine, splenetic; lackadaisical.    serious, sedate, staid, stayed; grave as a judge, grave as an undertaker, grave as a mustard pot; sober, sober as a judge, solemn, demure; grim; grim-faced, grim-visaged; rueful, wan, long-faced.    disconsolate; unconsolable, inconsolable; forlorn, comfortless, desolate, desole [Fr.], sick at heart; soul sick, heart sick; au desespoir [Fr.]; in despair etc. 859; lost.    overcome; broken down, borne down, bowed down; heartstricken etc. (mental suffering) 828^†; cut up, dashed, sunk; unnerved, unmanned; down fallen, downtrodden; broken-hearted; careworn.    ... show more