Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tearful

/ˈtɪɹfʊl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.99 in modern English

Syllables: tear-ful
IPA: /ˈtɪɹfʊl/

10

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Accompanied by tears; crying, or about to cry.

adj

Example Sentences

"Aaron got a little tearful until Laura came to reassure him."
"The week that was yet to elapse, she spent in wandering through her uncle's favourite walks in hours of tearful vigil, beside his tomb, and in collecting together every trifle on which he had set a value."
"Receiving the news of Joseph Beam's death two days after Christmas was a piercing blow that sent me into a tearful and contemplative stupor from which I have not yet emerged."

Etymology

From tear + -ful.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈtɪɹfʊl/
British English: /ˈtɪə(ɹ)fʊl/

Inflected Forms

more tearful (comparative) most tearful (superlative)

Derived Forms

tearfully tearfulness untearful

Frequently Paired Words

emotional melting

Synonyms

crysome lachrymose weepy crying in tears sobbing sobful tearful weeping despondent mournful atrabiliary

Antonyms

dry-eyed tearless unlachrymose untearful

Rhymes With

cheerful fearful earful sneerful

Questions

How do you pronounce tearful?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɪɹfʊl/.
What does tearful mean?: Accompanied by tears; crying, or about to cry.
Where does tearful come from?: From tear + -ful.

How to pronounce tearful

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tearful”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtɪɹfʊl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tearful”.
Repeat and practice — Say “tearful” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.