as in to whine
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
the time-honored tradition of new recruits complaining about the food in the mess hall
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of complain
Next morning at breakfast Amby complains grandly of his soreness.
—
Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Nah — not very long later, Tony is referencing his Bond obsession, complaining about the generic name of the secret drone-control computer program everyone is battling for here.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
Cruz and other senators have made a lot of noise about the importance of beating China back to the Moon, and some have, like Bridenstine, complained about the complexity of SpaceX's architecture.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 3 Sep. 2025
But everybody was complaining and asking for a hot one.
—Andy Wang, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for complain
Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Nah — not very long later, Tony is referencing his Bond obsession, complaining about the generic name of the secret drone-control computer program everyone is battling for here.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
Cruz and other senators have made a lot of noise about the importance of beating China back to the Moon, and some have, like Bridenstine, complained about the complexity of SpaceX's architecture.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 3 Sep. 2025
But everybody was complaining and asking for a hot one.
—Andy Wang, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for complain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for complain
Verb
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In lesser hands, such a question, especially from a young white male who plays guitar for a living, could come off as whining.—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
5 Sep. 2025
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And since then, his crying and whining have increased.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Deputies arrived to the sound of screaming and found the 16-year-old Elijah Quintero on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
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Curtis Pleasant remembers wading through the water, chest deep, screaming and searching.—
Suzette Hackney,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Julia says, dropping to all fours and moaning amid a pile of straw on the floor.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
5 Sep. 2025
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Ellis could be heard moaning and could be seen lying on the ground.—
Elena Santa Cruz,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Forget the summer of love; this has been the summer of our grumbling discontent.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
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The novel, published to immediate controversy in India—an obscenity suit was filed over its portrayal of an intercaste romance—offended her Syrian Christian kin, who grumbled about misrepresentation.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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There are few actors whose disembodied voices could carry long stretches of cinema, but Dafoe manages it, turning monologues about marionette mechanics or muttered complaints about hotel politics into something weirdly magnetic.—
Leila Latif,
IndieWire,
31 Aug. 2025
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He was also heard muttering expletives down the stretch, visibly battling the heat and pressure.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Not knowing much about the condition, Mares-Sedillo worried that her face would be permanently altered.—
Meredith Wilshere,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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The condition's most severe symptoms are sensitivities to spices, salt, and sweets, which means there's no reason to worry about a geographic tongue diagnosis.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Complain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/complain. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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