mourning

UK: /ˈmɔː^rnɪŋ/ US: /ˈmɔrnɪŋ/ ,(môr′ning, mōr′-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

mourn•ing /ˈmɔrnɪŋ/   n. [uncountable]

1. the act of a person who mourns;
   sorrowing:
   a time for mourning.
2. the conventional signs of sorrow for a person's death, esp. the wearing of black, etc.:
   The whole country is still in mourning over her death.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mourn•ing  (môr′ning, mōr′-), n. 

1. the act of a person who mourns;
   sorrowing or lamentation.
2. the conventional manifestation of sorrow for a person's death, esp. by the wearing of black clothes or a black armband, the hanging of flags at half-mast, etc.
3. the outward symbols of such sorrow, as black garments.
4. the period or interval during which a person grieves or formally expresses grief, as by wearing black garments.

adj. 

5. of, pertaining to, or used in mourning.

• bef. 900; Middle English (noun, nominal, adjective, adjectival); Old English murnung (noun, nominal). See mourn, -ing¹, -ing²

mourn′ing•ly, adv. 
Antonyms

• 1. rejoicing.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

mourning / ˈmɔːnɪŋ/ noun

1. the act or feelings of one who mourns; grief
2. the conventional symbols of grief, such as the wearing of black
3. the period of time during which a death is officially mourned

adjective

1. of or relating to mourning

ˈmourningly adverb

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

mourn /mɔrn/   v. 

1. to feel or express grief (for): [no object]
   He still mourns for the old days.
   [~ + object]
   mourned her lost youth.
2. to grieve or express sadness over the death of (someone): [no object]
   She still mourns for her son.
   [~ + object]
   We barely had time to mourn our dead.

mourn•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mourn  (môrn, mōrn), v.i. 

1. to feel or express sorrow or grief.
2. to grieve or lament for the dead.
3. to show the conventional or usual signs of sorrow over a person's death.

v.t. 

4. to feel or express sorrow or grief over (misfortune, loss, or anything regretted);
   deplore.
5. to grieve or lament over (the dead).
6. to utter in a sorrowful manner.

• bef. 900; Middle English mo(u)rnen, Old English murnan; cognate with Old High German mornēn, Old Norse morna, Gothic maurnan

Synonyms

• 1. bewail, bemoan. See grieve. 

Antonyms

• 1. laugh, rejoice.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

mourn / mɔːn/ verb

1. to feel or express sadness for the death or loss of (someone or something)
2. (intransitive) to observe the customs of mourning, as by wearing black

Etymology: Old English murnan; compare Old High German mornēn to be troubled, Gothic maurnan to grieve, Greek mermeros worried