complain
verb /kəmˈpleɪn/
/kəmˈpleɪn/
[intransitive, transitive]Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they complain | /kəmˈpleɪn/ /kəmˈpleɪn/ |
| he / she / it complains | /kəmˈpleɪnz/ /kəmˈpleɪnz/ |
| past simple complained | /kəmˈpleɪnd/ /kəmˈpleɪnd/ |
| past participle complained | /kəmˈpleɪnd/ /kəmˈpleɪnd/ |
| -ing form complaining | /kəmˈpleɪnɪŋ/ /kəmˈpleɪnɪŋ/ |
- to say that you are annoyed, unhappy or not satisfied about somebody/something
- She never complains, but she's obviously exhausted.
- (informal) ‘How are you?’ ‘Oh, I can't complain (= I'm all right).’
- complain to somebody Annoyed residents have complained to the police.
- complain about something Shoppers complained about the lack of toilet facilities.
- complain to somebody about something I'm going to complain to the manager about this.
- complain of something The defendant complained of intimidation during the investigation.
- complain at something She complained at the unfairness of it all.
- complain (that)… He complained bitterly that he had been unfairly treated.
- + speech ‘It's not fair,’ she complained.
Synonyms complaincomplain- protest
- object
- grumble
- moan
- whine
- complain to say that you are annoyed, unhappy or not satisfied about somebody/something:
- I’m going to complain to the manager about this.
- protest to say or do something to show that you disagree with something or think it is bad, especially publicly; to give something as a reason for protesting:
- Students took to the streets to protest against the decision.
- object to say that you disagree with something or think it is bad; to give something as a reason for objecting:
- If nobody objects, we’ll postpone the meeting till next week.
- He objected that the police had arrested him without sufficient evidence.
- grumble (rather informal, disapproving) to complain about somebody/something, especially something that is not really very serious:
- They kept grumbling that they were cold.
- moan (British English, rather informal, disapproving) to complain about somebody/something in an annoying way:
- What are you moaning about now?
- whine (rather informal, disapproving) to complain in an annoying, crying voice:
- Stop whining!
- ‘I want to go home,’ whined Toby.
- to complain/protest/grumble/moan/whine about something
- to complain/protest/grumble/moan at something
- to complain/protest/object/grumble/moan/whine to somebody
- to complain/protest/object/grumble/moan/whine that…
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsa2- All the guests complained about the noise.
- He really has no right to complain.
- I'm going to complain to the authorities about this!
- It was entirely my own idea, so I can hardly complain.
- She complained bitterly about the lack of help she received.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- bitterly
- loudly
- constantly
- …
- cannot
- can hardly
- have cause to
- …
- about
- at
- to
- …
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French complaindre, from medieval Latin complangere ‘bewail’, from Latin com- (expressing intensive force) + plangere ‘to lament’.