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
as in shriek
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bawl
Sarene Leeds, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2024
Frieda, now entirely incapable of playing nice, taking big, blatant swipes at her daughters, Shelly grimly staring at the board, and finally, Nancy bawling, and stomping out of the room.
—Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 21 Sep. 2024
Washington Post, 21 July 2021
Distillers bury their faces in their hands and bawl after learning MLB’s winter meetings will go virtual.
—Nick Canepa Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Oct. 2020
See All Example Sentences for bawl
Verb
Traumatized doesn’t begin to describe Emily’s reaction as Shawkat slowly starts bawling in disbelief.
—Sarene Leeds, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2024
Frieda, now entirely incapable of playing nice, taking big, blatant swipes at her daughters, Shelly grimly staring at the board, and finally, Nancy bawling, and stomping out of the room.
—Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 21 Sep. 2024
Noun
That night, Faris saw a woman near her bawl and wide-eyed grown-ups run.
—Washington Post, 21 July 2021
Distillers bury their faces in their hands and bawl after learning MLB’s winter meetings will go virtual.
—Nick Canepa Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Oct. 2020
See All Example Sentences for bawl
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bawl
Verb
-
Traditionally, the upside down American flag signals distress, and that was the mood expressed as speakers shouted, cried and chanted with the crowd of around 100 people.—
Harley Walls,
Arkansas Online,
17 May 2025
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The massive shock to the nervous system can create a sense of disintegration and fragmentation, coupled with intense emotions such as crying, shallow breathing or lashing out.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
Verb
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Another student, under the same video, said that their entire class was merely yelled at for doing it.—
Annabelle Canela,
Parents,
7 May 2025
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As O’Neil’s trailer for Slauson Rec indicates, the school had unconventional training methods; in one glimpse of the footage, the Honey Boy writer-star is seen yelling at students.—
Jack Smart,
People.com,
7 May 2025
Noun
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The rag-doll physics of enemies coupled with their heinous death shrieks made battles more humorous than haunting.—
Jamal Michel,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
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The little shriek Hardy lets out when Venom headbutts him in the face?—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
25 Apr. 2025
Verb
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This raw, vulnerable and unpredictable version of Tiffany Haddish leaves the viewer crying with laughter and sobbing from heartfelt, relatable, real-time self-healing.—
Matt Minton,
Variety,
9 May 2025
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The father buried his face into a pew’s rail and sobbed.—
Ryan Oehrli,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Traditionally, the upside down American flag signals distress, and that was the mood expressed as speakers shouted, cried and chanted with the crowd of around 100 people.—
Harley Walls,
Arkansas Online,
17 May 2025
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In a separate post, Cabrera shouted out some teammates who came and visited him in the hospital overnight.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2025
Noun
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Inside the fence, the atmosphere was oddly peaceful, and sometimes so quiet that the loudest noise was the whine of an overhead drone.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
6 May 2025
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The motor produces a whine that is noticeable but not distracting.—
William Roberson,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Rice was surrounded by her legal team and her family at the time of the reading and immediately started weeping with her face in her hands.—
Caroline Blair,
People.com,
3 May 2025
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Adele wept her way through 60 Minutes and sold 3.38 million albums in a week.—
Remy Blumenfeld,
HollywoodReporter,
1 May 2025
Verb
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Downstairs on the fairy-tale terrace, over an exorbitant Scottish cheese board, her mother and husband and sister were all screaming at one another.—
Patricia Lockwood,
New Yorker,
18 May 2025
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Videos posted to social media appear to show the mast of the ship crashing into the bridge just before 8:30 p.m., as passengers and nearby onlookers screamed, prompting an immediate search and rescue operation on the East River for the injured and overboard passengers.—
Alexandra Koch , Alexis McAdams , CB Cotton , Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bawl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawl. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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