1
as in cries
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 shouts
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bawls
Verb
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In the spot, Shane sits in a middle seat next to a chatty flier while a baby cries in the background.—
Chiara Kim,
PEOPLE,
9 Apr. 2026 -
New phone footage leaked to TMZ appears to show Paul putting Mortensen in a choke hold and hurling metal chairs at him; a child cries.—
Rebecca Jennings,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This grand procession of Edmonia’s work is an act of reclamation—a gathering in her name that shouts through stone and into the eons.—
Tyehimba Jess,
ARTnews.com,
17 Apr. 2026
-
William shouts that someone DID come looking!—
Lincee Ray,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Swiss skier Melanie Meillard weeps in the arms of her teammate Janine Schmitt after missing a turn on her slalom run Women’s Team Combined Slalom.—
Staff Photographer,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Cannon weeps into an expansive white space that only she and Trish inhabit.—
E. Tammy Kim,
New Yorker,
17 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
My boss yells at me across the office for small, easily fixable mistakes.—
Abigail Van Buren,
Boston Herald,
14 Apr. 2026
-
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, right, yells at UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, left, after a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four April 3, 2026 in Phoenix.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The glow of hundreds of candles illuminated somber faces, sobs often cutting through the silence in the crisp spring air.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The recording of the call is harrowing and gut-wrenching as Denise Lee sobs and begs for her life.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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At the hospital in Dollow, mothers sat shoulder to shoulder on narrow beds holding frail children, some too weak to cry while others let out soft whimpers.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Earlier this month, a Gardena police officer responded to a report that there were whimpers and cries coming from a self-compacting trash can outside a church.—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
For husky owners, the incident served as a reminder that, while the breed is beloved for its personality, those operatic howls can sometimes cause real-world misunderstandings—even police visits.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
-
In response to howls of protest, the commission has agreed to a 180-day moratorium on severing the ties with PBS.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
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These rock lamentations will not be carried over to the full-length album the band still has in the works, which Bono promises will have a more joyful tone.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
18 Feb. 2026
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The album’s Bandcamp blurb shouts out Ghédalia Tarzatès, the late French composer who collaged his wails and lamentations in the endangered Ladino language to evoke pangs of existential angst.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
6 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Bawls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawls. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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