1. expressing sorrow or mourning, especially for something lost or past
2. relating to or written in elegiac verse (a poetic meter used in classical poetry)
Usage: literary

Examples

• The poet’s elegiac verses mourned the passing of his youth.
• Her elegiac tone captured the sadness of the abandoned town.
• The song had an elegiac quality that reminded listeners of lost love.
• Ancient Greek poets often wrote in elegiac meter.
• The elegiac mood of the painting reflected the artist’s grief.
• His elegiac memoir chronicled the decline of his hometown.