lamentation

noun

lam·​en·​ta·​tion ˌla-mən-ˈtā-shən 

: 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

Synonyms of lamentation

• wail
• tears
• mourning
• lament
• cry
• weeping
• groan
• howl
• plaint

Examples of lamentation in a Sentence

bitter lamentations for the dead

words spoken in lamentation for the dead

Recent Examples on the Web

These rock lamentations will not be carried over to the full-length album the band still has in the works, which Bono promises will have a more joyful tone. —Chris Willman, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026

The album’s Bandcamp blurb shouts out Ghédalia Tarzatès, the late French composer who collaged his wails and lamentations in the endangered Ladino language to evoke pangs of existential angst. —H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026

The ghetto is full of lamentation. —Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2026

Jonathan Franzen, Freedom Franzen’s Great American behemoth opens with an epigraph from The Winter’s Tale: the lamentation of a lost mate. —Literary Hub, 3 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lamentation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation