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wail
WORDNET DICTIONARY
Noun wail has 1 sense
- wail(n = noun.communication) lament, lamentation, plaint - a cry of sorrow and grief; "their pitiful laments could be heard throughout the ward" is a kind of complaint
Derived forms verb wail2, verb wail1
Verb wail has 2 senses
- wail(v = verb.communication) howl, roar, ululate, yaup, yawl - emit long loud cries; "wail in self-pity"; "howl with sorrow" is one way to call, cry, holler, hollo, scream, shout, shout out, squall, yell
- wail(v = verb.body) mewl, pule, whimper - cry weakly or softly; "she wailed with pain" is one way to cry, weep
Derived forms noun wail1, noun wailer1, noun wailing1
Sample sentences:
You can hear animals wail in the meadows
The meadows wail with animals
Derived form noun wail1
Sample sentence:
Somebody ----s
CIDE DICTIONARY
wail, v. t. [Cf. Icel. val choice, velja to choose, akin to Goth. waljan, G. wählen.].
To choose; to select. Henryson. [1913 Webster]
wail, v. t. [OE. wailen, weilen, probably fr. Icel. væla; cf. Icel. væ, vei, woe, and E. wayment, also OE. wai, wei, woe. Cf. Woe.].
To lament; to bewail; to grieve over; as, to wail one's death. Shak. [1913 Webster]
wail, v. i.
To express sorrow audibly; to make mournful outcry; to weep. [1913 Webster]
"Therefore I will wail and howl." Micah i. 8.
[1913 Webster]
wail, n.
Loud weeping; violent lamentation; wailing. Longfellow. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
wail, n. & v.
--n.
1 a prolonged plaintive inarticulate loud high-pitched cry of pain, grief, etc.
2 a sound like or suggestive of this.
--v.
1 intr. utter a wail.
2 intr. lament or complain persistently or bitterly.
3 intr. (of the wind etc.) make a sound like a person wailing.
4 tr. poet. or rhet. bewail; wail over.
--n.
1 a prolonged plaintive inarticulate loud high-pitched cry of pain, grief, etc.
2 a sound like or suggestive of this.
--v.
1 intr. utter a wail.
2 intr. lament or complain persistently or bitterly.
3 intr. (of the wind etc.) make a sound like a person wailing.
4 tr. poet. or rhet. bewail; wail over.
Idiom
Wailing Wall a high wall in Jerusalem said to stand on the site of Herod's temple, where Jews traditionally pray and lament on Fridays.
Derivative
wailer n. wailful adj. poet. wailingly adv.
Etymology
ME f. ON, rel. to WOE
THESAURUS
wail
bark, bawl, bay, bell, bellow, blare, blat, blate, bleat, blubber, boohoo, boom, bray, breathe, buzz, cackle, call, caterwaul, chant, chirp, coo, creak, crow, cry, cry out, dolorous tirade, drawl, exclaim, flute, fuss, gasp, give tongue, give voice, groan, growl, grunt, hiss, howl, jeremiad, keen, kick, lament, lilt, low, make an outcry, meow, mew, mewl, miaow, moan, moo, mumble, murmur, mutter, neigh, nicker, outcry, pant, pipe, plaint, planctus, pule, quest, repine, roar, rumble, screak, scream, screech, shriek, shrill, sibilate, sigh, sing, skirl, skreigh, snap, snarl, snort, sob, sough, squall, squawk, squeak, squeal, thunder, tirade, troat, trumpet, twang, ululate, ululation, wail of woe, warble, weep, whicker, whimper, whine, whinny, whisper, whistle, wrawl, yammer, yap, yawl, yawp, yell, yelp, yip, yowlROGET THESAURUS
wail
Lamentation
N lament, lamentation, wail, complaint, plaint, murmur, mutter, grumble, groan, moan, whine, whimper, sob, sigh, suspiration, heaving, deep sigh, cry, scream, howl, outcry, wail of woe, ululation, frown, scowl, tear, weeping, flood of tears, fit of crying, lacrimation, lachrymation, melting mood, weeping and gnashing of teeth, plaintiveness, languishment, condolence, mourning, weeds, willow, cypress, crape, deep mourning, sackcloth and ashes, lachrymatory, knell, deep death song, dirge, coronach, nenia, requiem, elegy, epicedium, threne, monody, threnody, jeremiad, jeremiade, ullalulla, mourner, grumbler, Noobe, Heraclitus, lamenting, in mourning, in sackcloth and ashes, sorrowing, sorrowful, mournful, tearful, lachrymose, plaintive, plaintful, querulous, querimonious, in the melting mood, threnetic, in tears, with tears in one's eyes, with moistened eyes, with watery eyes, bathed in tears, dissolved in tears, like Niobe all tears, elegiac, epicedial, de profundis, les larmes aux yeux, Int, heigh-ho!, alas!, alack!, O dear!, ah me!, woe is me!, lackadaisy!, well a day!, lack a day!, alack a day!, wellaway!, alas the day!, O tempora O mores!, what a pity!, miserabile dictu!, O lud lud!, too true!, tears standing in the eyes, tears starting from the eyes, eyes suffused, eyes swimming, eyes brimming, eyes overflowing with tears, if you have tears prepare to shed them now, interdum lacrymae pondera vocis habent, strangled his language in his tears, tears such as angels weep.VB lament, mourn, deplore, grieve, weep over, bewail, bemoan, condole with, fret, wear mourning, go into mourning, put on mourning, wear the willow, wear sackcloth and ashes, infandum renovare dolorem, give sorrow words, sigh, give a sigh, heave, fetch a sigh, waft a sigh from Indus to the pole, sigh 'like a furnace', wail, cry, weep, sob, greet, blubber, pipe, snivel, bibber, whimper, pule, pipe one's eye, drop tears, shed tears, drop a tear, shed a tear, melt into tears, burst into tears, fondre en larmes, cry oneself blind, cry one's eyes out, yammer, scream, mew, groan, moan, whine, roar, roar like a bull, bellow like a bull, cry out lustily, rend the air, frown, scowl, make a wry face, gnash one's teeth, wring one's hands, tear one's hair, beat one's breast, roll on the ground, burst with grief, complain, murmur, mutter, grumble, growl, clamor, make a fuss about, croak, grunt, maunder, deprecate, cry out before one is hurt, complain without cause.
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