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

The league had determined that fans thought players were too whiny. —Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024

This person had more than a year to prepare for the move, but didn’t plan ahead for many of the tasks and now is overwhelmed, needy, whiny and complaining constantly. —Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024

Our next president ought to promise to protect scholars who are doing their jobs well from the consequences of offending a particularly whiny student or administrator. —Alexander Hughes, National Review, 4 Jan. 2024

But after a whiny Netflix documentary, a whiny biography (‘Spare’ — even the title is a pouty gripe) and an inert podcast, the Harry and Meghan brand swelled into a sanctimonious bubble just begging to be popped — and ‘South Park’ was the pin. —Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2024

Your very opinionated, independent and annoyed tween will flop on the couch next to you and want to cuddle after a long day or will become whiny and needy at seemingly strange times. —Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2023

For instance, mid-celebration, a birthday celebrant received a whiny hungry call from her husband, and zap, my bill increased by $100. —Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023

The star takes a whiny victim role and turns it into a master class in reactive comic acting. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Sep. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined above