plaintive

adjective

plain·​tive ˈplān-tiv How to pronounce plaintive (audio)
: expressive of suffering or woe : melancholy
a plaintive sigh
plaintively adverb
plaintiveness noun

Did you know?

“The people are drifting from door to door / Can’t find no heaven I don’t care where they go.” So sang Nehemiah Curtis “Skip” James on a Depression-era recording of his song “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues.” James’s somber lyrics as well as his otherworldly falsetto and distinctive minor-key fingerpicking may be aptly described by the adjective plaintive—deeply expressive, like much of the blues. Plaintive comes from the Middle English word plaintif, meaning “grieving,” a borrowing from an identical Anglo-French word that itself was formed from the Anglo-French noun plaint, a word meaning “lamentation.” (Plaint was also adopted directly into English to refer to expressions of sorrow, mourning, or regret.) Plaintif is the source too of the familiar legal term plaintiff, which refers to someone who presents a legal action or complaint to a court. But while only some people become plaintiffs, all are capable of plaintiveness, whether in song or just a world-weary sigh.

Examples of plaintive in a Sentence

We could hear the plaintive cry of a wounded animal in the woods. the puppy's plaintive expression after we put the toy away was rather amusing
Recent Examples on the Web Coldplay, once skewered by critics for being too plaintive and self-pitying, was now broadcasting the opposite message: everything is magic. Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024 Kathy becomes our narrator, her mile-a-minute Midwestern patter adding a layer of percussion to the rumbling engines and plaintive crooning of ’60s rock ‘n’ roll on the soundtrack. Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2024 The plaintive ballad spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for Song and Record of the Year. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 24 July 2024 Yet its plaintive tone underlined a deeper concern. Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for plaintive 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plaintive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English plaintif grieving, from Anglo-French pleintif, plaintif, from plaint

First Known Use

circa 1570, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of plaintive was circa 1570

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Dictionary Entries Near plaintive

Cite this Entry

“Plaintive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plaintive. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

plaintive

adjective
plain·​tive ˈplānt-iv How to pronounce plaintive (audio)
: showing or expressing sorrow : mournful, sad
a plaintive sigh
plaintively adverb
plaintiveness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on plaintive

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