lamentation

noun lam·en·ta·tion \ ˌla-mən-ˈtā-shən \

Definition of lamentation

: an expression of sorrow, mourning, or regret : an act or instance of lamenting

a song of lamentation

… blending a lamentation over the effects of time with a kind of apologia for it.
—Glen R. Brown

See lamentation defined for English-language learners

Examples of lamentation in a Sentence

bitter lamentations for the dead
words spoken in lamentation for the dead

Recent Examples of lamentation from the Web

Some snapped photos of the path and its canopy of trees to share as lamentations on social media.

— Washington Post, "Closure of trail for Purple Line sparks anger and nostalgia," 5 Sep. 2017
Court and Spark is an album filled with true musicianship, and enough funk sensibility to knock Mitchell’s whistling lamentations into songs.

— josephine livingstone, New Republic, "Both Sides of Joni Mitchell," 19 Oct. 2017
His rough training camp threatened to send his confidence sinking again, his lamentations over his poor play becoming a daily ritual throughout late July and August.

— mike sielski, Philly.com, "Patrick Robinson had been a great find for Eagles, now that he's found his confidence | Mike Sielski," 17 Oct. 2017
Some people react to the tweets with warnings or lamentations that the world is regressing to early 20th-century ideologies.

— marina koren, The Atlantic, "The Man Who Live-Tweets World War II," 29 Sep. 2017
This collection of all 23 Can singles provides, instead, thumbnails of its larger pictures: systematic strategies, experiments with sound, funk beats, provocations, lamentations, jokes.

— jon pareles, New York Times, "Blasts From the Past From the Rolling Stones, D’Angelo, Neil Young and Can," 15 Sep. 2017
For the first time ever after one of these corporate announcements, there was heard, mixed in with the usual lamentations, a palpable sigh of relief.

— danny westneat, The Seattle Times, "Take it from us: With Amazon, you can get too much of a good thing," 8 Sep. 2017
At the very least, the book is timely, particularly in its lamentation of the hatefulness — the word is not too strong — of the nation's political divide.

— leonard pitts, Alaska Dispatch News, "Flake’s conservative conscience is welcome, but late," 9 Aug. 2017
Peak lamentation came from Mosul’s older diaspora, some of whom had left Iraq in the 1970s.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "A bird’s-eye view of the ruins of Mosul," 20 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lamentation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of lamentation

14th century

lamentation Synonyms

LAMENTATION Defined for English Language Learners

lamentation

noun

Definition of lamentation for English Language Learners

: an expression of great sorrow or deep sadness

LAMENTATION Defined for Kids

lamentation

noun lam·en·ta·tion \ ˌla-mən-ˈtā-shən \

Definition of lamentation for Students

1 : great sorrow

2 : an expression of great sorrow

Mourners uttered lamentations.

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See words that rhyme with lamentation Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for lamentation Spanish Central: Translation of lamentation Nglish: Translation of lamentation for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of lamentation for Arabic speakers

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lamentation

Definition of lamentation

Examples of lamentation in a Sentence

Recent Examples of lamentation from the Web

First Known Use of lamentation

lamentation Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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LAMENTATION Defined for English Language Learners

lamentation

Definition of lamentation for English Language Learners

LAMENTATION Defined for Kids

lamentation

Definition of lamentation for Students

Learn More about lamentation

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