Lachrymose

Are you one of those who just cannot control his tears? Do they flow out incessantly? Do you cry at every second instance? Well, in that case you are a lachrymose person. (And in case you never cry, you are as thick skinned as a hippopotamus.)

The word Lachrymose comes from the Latin root ‘lacri-, lachrymo-, lachry- + ’, meaning ‘a tear, or tears [from the eyes]; as when crying, etc’.

The dictionary definitions for Lachrymose are as follows:

1. Weeping or inclined to weep; tearful. (adjective)

2. Causing or tending to cause tears. (adjective)

Masters Tip to remember Lachrymose:

Case a glance back to your school days. There was a child in one’s class who used to cry at the slightest possible instance. I remember a couple from my own school days. Those kids were the lachrymose kids.

Usage of the word Lachrymose:

1. The death of close one can turn the most rigid person into a lachrymose one.

2. Rosa’s human figures never smile; instead they seem grim, wary, defiant, sullen or lachrymose. — The Wall Street Journal, “Return to the Grim and Dark”.

3. A violinist who had played outside the medical centre every day did so for the last time – a mellifluous but lachrymose air. — The Guardian, “Gabrielle Giffordss astronaut husband prepares for space mission”