whiny

adjective

ˈ(h)wī-nē 

variants or less commonly whiney

whinier; whiniest

: characterized by whining:

a

: having a high-pitched, shrill or plaintive quality

a whiny voice

"So What'cha Want," despite its jittery organ, whiny guitar, and distorted vocals, turned out to be one of the least predictable-sounding hit singles of recent years.

—Alan Light

b

: characterized by or given to complaining

whiny children

Their whiny, even beggarly tone was hardly the supremely confident sound of the American Century.

—Sidney Blumenthal

… offering little more than a whiny list of grievances …

—Linda Chavez

In this conversational memoir, Nancy comes across as honest, if a little whiny, and a major-league worrier.

—Ilene Cooper

whininess noun

A few years ago, thirtysomething was widely reviled for encouraging the yuppie ethos of materialism and whininess.

—Mark Harris

… I heard something, a certain whininess in his voice, maybe, that led me to conclude that I wasn't about to get a pasting …

—Nick Hornby

Examples of whiny in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Allen says the little one began salivating, was noticeably flushed in his face, and became very whiny and fussy. —Meredith Wilshere, People.com, 8 June 2025

Often, gallery shows are better, on all counts and, these days, less whiny and earnest. —Brian T. Allen, National Review, 7 June 2025

In fact, whiny, self-contradictory, and sanctimonious art has achieved a great deal of cultural-political, though not necessarily artistic, success. —Diedrich Diederichsen, Artforum, 1 June 2025

Ellis doesn’t see the point in appeasing a few whiny observers anyway. —Lindsay Schnell, New York Times, 21 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for whiny

• briny
• piney
• shiny
• spiny
• tiny
• consignee
• sunshiny