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
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Recent Examples of bawls
Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 11 May 2026
Verb
Willis, who is heterosexual, bawls much like Carl Bean.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 11 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bawls
Verb
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Kelli cries over how solid the Mwangi unit is, praising Gerald as a father and husband and affirming that Shamea’s ass is real, while everyone else looks on, bewildered.—
Ile-Ife Okantah,
Vulture,
8 June 2026
-
Jennifer Brook cries her own tears for her husband.—
Dawn White,
CBS News,
28 May 2026
Verb
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The emotional high point comes at the bridge, when the song transforms into a stomp-clap rhythm and Rodrigo shouts the lyrics with abandon.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
12 June 2026
-
Patchett shouts out fellow authors in the novel, including George Saunders, Paul Murray and Kiran Desai.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
2 June 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
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
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Fieri yells in the next clip as Jesser swipes above his head to try to block his shot in an inflatable basketball game.—
Chiara Kim,
PEOPLE,
9 June 2026
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Nobody screams or yells; the Marsies just fire back, and M-6 troops continue to fire in response.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
22 May 2026
Noun
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Her presence is heralded not by the sounds of howls, roars or clanking chains, but by the shutting of the door to her study, the scrape of her chair as it is pulled towards her desk, and the clanking of her type-writer keys.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
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At that point, a loud drum fill announces itself, snarling electric guitars kick in and McCartney’s trademark howls of old arrive in time for a fairly kick-ass chorus.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
23 May 2026
Verb
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Her endless screams and sobs echo back to the agonized wailing of The Mist’s David Drayton, who murdered his child and friends for nothing.—
Josh Weiss,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
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Later that day, Jamison sobs in bed while her mom and dad worry about her chances of getting into Stanford if she's reported to the police.—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 June 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
Cite this Entry
“Bawls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawls. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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