complained

verb

past tense of complain
as in screamed
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely the time-honored tradition of new recruits complaining about the food in the mess hall

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of complained Mayor Karen Bass had imposed a 45-day deadline for Lineage to clean everything up as neighbors complained of rotting smells, rodents and flies. — Julie Sharp, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026 The inspection followed a hunger strike by detainees, who in a letter, complained about rotten or worm-infested food, medical neglect, and being coerced into signing deportation orders. — Vanessa Romo, NPR, 20 Aug. 2026 Numerous residents spoke against the Village in the Woods proposal at a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing in July, and even more complained last year when a development was planned at nearby Tatnic Hill Road. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 20 Aug. 2026 However, recent reviewers have complained about the access to games in the app. — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 20 Aug. 2026 In April 2024, at a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, an oil executive complained that his industry had spent $400 million lobbying the previous administration and rules still hadn’t been changed. — Will Pattiz, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2026 Davis runs Cambria, which owns mines in Canada and produces quartz products for kitchens and bathrooms and has long complained of foreign competition undercutting its business. — Bloomberg News, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026 The Charlotte Observer spoke with four parents in Union County Public Schools who complained the district presented barriers to their children receiving adequate support. — Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 19 Aug. 2026 Grevelding complained that law enforcement appeared to be doing nothing to help him or his family after the incident occurred. — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for complained
  1. screamed
  2. whined
  3. moaned
  4. muttered
  5. grumbled
  6. worried
  7. growled
Verb
  • After being shocked with the glove, the officer screamed and dropped to the ground, briefly debilitated for the moment the glove made contact with his skin.
    — Meg Anderson, NPR, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The same trans-activists who screamed at me in legislatures and harassed me at colleges could misuse the Protect College Sports Act to challenge every single state law defending women’s athletic competition…all 27 of them.
    — Riley Gaines OutKick, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of screamed
Verb
  • Post-Covid, Hollywood has whined about the falloff for MPA fare in Pan Asian territories, particularly the once-robust South Korea.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 28 July 2026
  • After a few casts, Rubye’s rod bent, and the reel whined as line spooled out.
    — John Todd, Outdoor Life, 9 July 2026
Definition of whined
Verb
  • Coach Arne Slot moaned about VAR but his problems lie much closer to home.
    — Phil Hay, New York Times, 4 May 2026
  • Critics moaned when the CFP committee picked the Hurricanes over Notre Dame as the last Power 4 entry into the playoffs.
    — Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026
Definition of moaned
Verb
  • This was 1872, and the pious (and patronizing) commentators of the time muttered that Damien’s unvarnished personality was due to his simple farm upbringing in rural Belgium.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026
  • Bat met ball and, under his breath, Astros manager Joe Espada muttered an expletive.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 29 June 2026
Definition of muttered
Verb
  • There was a parade, and the masses grumbled over the faint legitimacy of the ordeal.
    — Noah White, Miami Herald, 17 Aug. 2026
  • American consumers have grumbled about higher gas prices, but the S&P 500 is up almost 9 percent since the joint American-Israeli operation that started the war in February.
    — Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026
Definition of grumbled
Verb
  • But that’s left some observers worried Disney wasn’t bringing in enough summertime visitors.
    — Natasha Chen, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
  • At 24 weeks, Mahato was worried by Kabita’s pallid complexion and again recommended a blood test.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of worried
Verb
  • Since then, Barkley has growled at several other people, and all but one have been diagnosed with some type of cancer, Dozier said.
    — Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 11 Aug. 2026
  • At the other end of our road, the cranes of the docks loomed — great Stothert and Pitt machines that growled overhead like something out of Star Wars, guarding the scale and mystery of the River Thames.
    — Lee Clayton, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of growled

Browse Nearby Words

complainants
complained
complainer
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Cite this Entry

“Complained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/complained. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of complained for Spanish Speakers

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