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
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Some students concede this can sound whiny, and that they can be pushy. Gary Robbins, The Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2024 The long-term teacher can’t pretend to care about his whiny students anymore and uses a seemingly routine parent’s complaint as an excuse to get canned. Ben Travers, IndieWire, 11 Oct. 2024 In defense of whiny Joey King, that does seem like a lot. Emma Specter, Vogue, 12 Aug. 2024 Of course, the girls are extra whiny and L. ends up needing her diaper changed at 12:58 p.m. R29 Team, refinery29.com, 29 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for whiny 

Word History

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of whiny was in 1746

Dictionary Entries Near whiny

Cite this Entry

“Whiny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whiny. Accessed 12 Nov. 2024.

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