plaintive

adjective

plain·tive ˈplān-tiv How to pronounce plaintive (audio)

: expressive of suffering or woe : melancholy

a plaintive sigh

plaintively adverb

plaintiveness noun

Did you know?

Like its relative plangent, plaintive is often used to describe sad sounds. "A plaintive wail," for example, is a common use. Plaintive and plangent (along with relatives plaintiff and complain) ultimately derive from the Latin verb plangere, meaning "to strike," "to beat one's breast," or "to lament." This Latin verb led to plaint, an Anglo-French word (and now also an English word) meaning "lamentation." Plaint is the root of Middle English plaintif (meaning "lamenting" or "complaining"), which gave rise to plaintive as well as the noun plaintiff.

Example Sentences

We could hear the plaintive cry of a wounded animal in the woods. the puppy's plaintive expression after we put the toy away was rather amusing

Recent Examples on the Web Meanwhile, Ettore — as winningly played by Maltese, the most rounded and changeable character here — largely recedes from view, until a heartrending scene of plaintive, embittered testimony.

Guy Lodge, Variety, 6 Sep. 2022 Taken as a whole, the messages reflect a plaintive cry from beleaguered riders who merely want a reliable transit system, one in which buses and trains show up when they are supposed to without breaking down or catching fire.

Shirley Leung, BostonGlobe.com, 24 July 2022 Just like those plaintive messages that have to travel great distances and pass through impassable barriers, thoughts and ideas get garbled through transmission.

Jessica Kiang, Variety, 9 July 2022 If the Supreme Court held an end-of-term awards ceremony, the Old College Try Prize for great effort with zero success would go to Chief Justice John Roberts for his plaintive concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

David J. Garrow, WSJ, 26 June 2022 Together, the pair’s voices blend perfectly, painting a heartbreaking portrait of infidelity and love lost, all over the smooth, echoing strains of a plaintive guitar and some poignant vocal harmonies.

Stephen Daw, Billboard, 10 June 2022 The singer of that plaintive ballad is Sarah (Aisling Franciosi), a young woman with deep ties to the O’Hara family, whose own parents have died, leaving her alone in an echoing house.

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 May 2022 The tempo is slowed and Nell’s plaintive lead vocals drift in echoey layers over a steady acoustic guitar provided by Nev Cottee.

Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 May 2022 The trailer, bowing exclusively in Variety, opens at a wake where Humberto’s plaintive baritone plays against a series of images that hint at the family drama that unfolds.

Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 24 May 2022 See More

单词	plaintively
释义	plaintive adjective plain·tive ˈplān-tiv : expressive of suffering or woe : melancholy a plaintive sigh plaintively adverb plaintiveness noun Did you know? Like its relative plangent, plaintive is often used to describe sad sounds. "A plaintive wail," for example, is a common use. Plaintive and plangent (along with relatives plaintiff and complain) ultimately derive from the Latin verb plangere, meaning "to strike," "to beat one's breast," or "to lament." This Latin verb led to plaint, an Anglo-French word (and now also an English word) meaning "lamentation." Plaint is the root of Middle English plaintif (meaning "lamenting" or "complaining"), which gave rise to plaintive as well as the noun plaintiff. Synonyms aching agonized anguished bemoaning bewailing bitter deploring doleful dolesome dolorous funeral grieving heartbroken lamentable lugubrious mournful plangent regretful rueful sorrowful sorry wailing weeping woeful See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences We could hear the plaintive cry of a wounded animal in the woods. the puppy's plaintive expression after we put the toy away was rather amusing Recent Examples on the Web Meanwhile, Ettore — as winningly played by Maltese, the most rounded and changeable character here — largely recedes from view, until a heartrending scene of plaintive, embittered testimony. Guy Lodge, Variety, 6 Sep. 2022 Taken as a whole, the messages reflect a plaintive cry from beleaguered riders who merely want a reliable transit system, one in which buses and trains show up when they are supposed to without breaking down or catching fire. Shirley Leung, BostonGlobe.com, 24 July 2022 Just like those plaintive messages that have to travel great distances and pass through impassable barriers, thoughts and ideas get garbled through transmission. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 9 July 2022 If the Supreme Court held an end-of-term awards ceremony, the Old College Try Prize for great effort with zero success would go to Chief Justice John Roberts for his plaintive concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. David J. Garrow, WSJ, 26 June 2022 Together, the pair’s voices blend perfectly, painting a heartbreaking portrait of infidelity and love lost, all over the smooth, echoing strains of a plaintive guitar and some poignant vocal harmonies. Stephen Daw, Billboard, 10 June 2022 The singer of that plaintive ballad is Sarah (Aisling Franciosi), a young woman with deep ties to the O’Hara family, whose own parents have died, leaving her alone in an echoing house. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 May 2022 The tempo is slowed and Nell’s plaintive lead vocals drift in echoey layers over a steady acoustic guitar provided by Nev Cottee. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 May 2022 The trailer, bowing exclusively in Variety, opens at a wake where Humberto’s plaintive baritone plays against a series of images that hint at the family drama that unfolds. Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 24 May 2022 See More Word History Etymology Middle English plaintif grieving, from Anglo-French pleintif, plaintif, from plaint First Known Use circa 1570, in the meaning defined above Kids Definition plaintive adjective plain·tive ˈplān-tiv : showing or suggesting sadness : mournful a plaintive sigh plaintively adverb as in sorrowfully with feelings of bitterness or grief the man sighed plaintively as it became clear that he was getting nowhere with the officious bureaucrat Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance sorrowfully bitterly mournfully sadly dolefully painfully resentfully lugubriously ruefully dolorously sharply regretfully inconsolably unhappily hard harshly grievously woefully agonizingly wailfully despairingly wretchedly despondently sorely forlornly dejectedly disconsolately severely morosely dispiritedly sullenly glumly gloomily cheerlessly abjectly somberly distressfully drearily hardly dourly poignantly miserably darkly dismally pessimistically joylessly piercingly mirthlessly blackly distressingly acutely keenly rancorously downheartedly cruelly hurtfully crestfallenly ill low-spiritedly Antonyms & Near Antonyms happily joyously joyfully cheerfully cheerily gladly blissfully delightedly gleefully sunnily gaily mirthfully merrily gayly lightheartedly rejoicingly calmly casually blithely nonchalantly stoically impassively indifferently unconcernedly dispassionately lightly easily good-naturedly favorably well blithesomely See More
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plaintive

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

adjective

adverb