1
as in to cry
to shed tears often while making meaningless sounds as a sign of pain or distress
he bawled for days after his dog died
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to yell
to speak so as to be heard at a distance
the mover was bawling for help as the refrigerator was about to slip out of his hands
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bawl
Mike Combs, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2025
Realizing her suspicions are now confirmed, and her name is on the wheel a total of 13 times, Irina falls to her knees and bawls her eyes out.
—Joelle Goldstein, People.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Jeremy Engle, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2024
As the weekend’s big game approached, David Singleton could have staged his own super bawl.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for bawl
Verb
Then the barking would change again to bawling — the bear was off again.
—Mike Combs, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2025
Realizing her suspicions are now confirmed, and her name is on the wheel a total of 13 times, Irina falls to her knees and bawls her eyes out.
—Joelle Goldstein, People.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Noun
Instead, similar to other animals, newborn babies produce a heartbreaking (and ear-piercing) bawl.
—Jeremy Engle, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2024
As the weekend’s big game approached, David Singleton could have staged his own super bawl.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for bawl
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bawl
Verb
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My children cried themselves to sleep.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
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Most of us are socialized not just to suck it up, never to cry or show emotions, but also to suppress, go silent, hide, run away, act as if there is no agony.—
Kevin Powell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Tyler Bilodeau, Eric Dailey and Skyy Clark are the three returning starters for Mick Cronin, a decidedly old-school coach who still yells at high volume and suits up for tipoffs.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
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There was yelling, people falling, and some who appeared to get hurt in the scuffle, Lee said.—
Nicquel Terry Ellis,
CNN Money,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Led by blaring ‘80s synthesizers and a pounding beat, the song features a distorted lead vocal from D’Angelo, who accompanies himself on multitracked backing vocals with the occasional soul shriek thrown in for good measure.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
15 Oct. 2025
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But that doesn’t give a sense of how absorbingly otherworldly the film is, with its wordless beginnings and its shriek of a score from Jonny Greenwood.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Sigg fell to the floor, sobbing.—
Dakin Andone,
CNN Money,
26 Oct. 2025
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Now instead of celebrating his release, Adel was sobbing.—
Mosab Abu Toha,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Hyman shared another video of herself shouting about the incident in what appeared to be a cafe attached to the gym.—
Alia Shoaib,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
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Video from the scene shows an agent wrestling a suspect to the ground and striking him multiple times as bystanders shouted profanity and tried to intervene, with one person attempting to pull an agent away.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Deciphering the vocalizations involves both sound and context, as a dog’s bark or whine may be tied to its situation, Zhu said.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Boston Herald,
12 Oct. 2025
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The unfiltered electric soundtrack of the Evija goes from a piercing whine to an ear-splitting shriek.—
Tim Pitt,
Robb Report,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In the second, sexless, glowing people weep and hug in my timeline.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
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Back home in Lansing, Latavia and the children huddled together and wept.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the end, McGovern included clips from early morning airport chaos, rain on the Hawaiian beaches, the aftermath of a bloody lip and plenty of screaming and crying.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
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Momentum indicators aren't screaming buy at current levels.—
Jay Woods,
CNBC,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bawl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawl. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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