Crossword Dictionary
Tearful
Tearful - adjective
If someone is tearful, their face or voice shows signs that they have been crying or that they want to cry.
Synonyms: weeping, crying, sobbing, in tears, whimpering, blubbering, weepy (informal), lachrymose.
Sentence examples:
"She became very tearful when pressed to talk about it."
"...a tearful farewell."
Derived forms:
tearfully (ˈtearfully) - adverb
tearfulness (ˈtearfulness) noun
tears
Tears are essential to help you see clearly and maintain the health of your eyes. They can also help communicate your emotions. Your body makes three types of tears.
Basal tears are in your eyes all the time to lubricate, nourish and protect your cornea. Basal tears act as a constant shield between the eye and the rest of the world, keeping dirt and debris away.
Reflex tears are formed when your eyes need to wash away harmful irritants, such as smoke, foreign bodies or onion fumes. Your eyes release them in larger amounts than basal tears, and they may contain more antibodies to help fight bacteria.
Emotional tears are produced in response to joy, sadness, fear and other emotional states. Some scientists have proposed that emotional tears contain additional hormones and proteins not present in basal or reflex tears.