Synonyms of crying

crying 1 of 3

adjective

ˈkrī-iŋ 

as in urgent

needing immediate attention

a crying need for more activities for young people in this town

Synonyms & Similar Words

• urgent
• acute
• pressing
• intense
• desperate
• dire
• burning
• critical
• compelling
• emergent
• importunate
• instant
• serious
• imperative
• insistent
• clamant
• extreme
• demanding
• imperious
• immediate
• exigent
• overriding
• crucial
• necessitous
• severe
• dangerous
• grave
• life-and-death
• hazardous
• explosive
• precarious
• unstable
• perilous
• vital

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• minor
• trivial
• unimportant
• negligible
• incidental
• noncritical
• safe
• nonurgent
• low-pressure
• stable
• nonthreatening

crying

2 of 3

noun

as in weeping

Related Words

• weeping
• sobbing
• whining
• whimpering
• blubbering
• sniveling
• wail
• groan
• yammering
• lamentation
• moan
• bawl
• shriek
• whine
• lament
• keen
• cry
• plaint
• whimper
• yelp
• yowl
• howl
• squall

Dissimilar Words

• laugh
• chuckle
• giggle
• guffaw
• snicker
• cackle
• titter
• twitter
• chortle
• snigger

crying

3 of 3

verb

present participle of cry

1

as in sobbing

to shed tears often while making meaningless sounds as a sign of pain or distress

some kids started to cry even before the doctor had given them their shot

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sobbing
• weeping
• screaming
• blubbering
• bawling
• grieving
• blubbing
• whimpering
• whining
• mourning
• groaning
• howling
• moaning
• lamenting
• wailing
• sighing
• squalling
• sniffling
• greeting
• keening
• sniveling
• bleating
• mewling
• puling
• yowling

2

as in singing

to utter one's distinctive animal sound

we knew that we were getting very close to the ocean when we could hear sea gulls crying

Synonyms & Similar Words

• singing
• calling

3

as in shouting

to speak so as to be heard at a distance

a mother crying for help

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shouting
• yelling
• screaming
• hollering
• calling
• bawling
• roaring
• bellowing
• thundering
• baying
• vociferating
• sounding off
• shrieking
• wailing
• holloing
• screeching
• whooping
• howling
• squealing
• squeaking
• crowing
• shrilling
• yowling
• hailing
• caterwauling
• ululating
• speaking out
• yawping
• speaking up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• whispering
• breathing
• muttering
• murmuring
• mumbling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of crying

Adjective

Some in the pro-crying camp pointed to articles and headlines as proof. — Jon Sarlin, CNN Money, 11 July 2026

Noun

Authorities said the baby was next to the dumpster, breathing and crying, with the umbilical cord still attached. — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026

Sensing others might also be feeling glum, Ted delivers a pep talk about how crying is okay in football. — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026

The crying can become the dominant thing, and the acting is the crying as opposed to being able to convey a personality underneath all of that, being able to find the nuance of who this character is outside of the crying. — Brande Victorian, HollywoodReporter, 15 Aug. 2026

Another video shows a man holding the crying infant, with his arms covered in blood and the lower half of his body still trapped in rubble. — Duarte Dias, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026

Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore received a bizarre gift of flip-flops adorned with her own crying face. — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Aug. 2026

Sheriff's deputies found two people standing near a tan van crying, the report says. — Rafael Escalera Montoto, Arkansas Online, 5 Aug. 2026

The crying or whining may reflect excitement and anticipation. — Cathy M. Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2026

Wanner was taken by the suspect, leaving behind her 11-month-old daughter in a high chair, where she was later found crying and alone. — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2026

Verb

The investigation began May 4, 2025, when the city of Riverside officials received reports of a baby crying inside a dumpster. — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026

This audience listened in awed silence, and by the end of the song, everyone around us was crying as well, before jolting upward in a spontaneous standing ovation — one of three. — James Gunn, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2026

Paramount’s Heart of the Beast leaves audiences moved and crying, including Deadline chief critic Pete Hammond. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026

Sitting at the defendant’s table, Flynn scrunched up his face and appeared to be crying as the 911 call was played aloud. — Holly Yan, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2026

People were still crying, dancing and desperate for a nap the next day! — Alex Apatoff, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026

Stuffing my face while crying about women being kinder to themselves would be really comforting. — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026

Jenna Dewan met partner Val Chmerkovskiy, who had some kind words that led to some crying on her part. — Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2026

The spectacle of a powerful, disruptive woman changed into the spectacle of a woman running, crying and screaming, and the woman isn’t self-possessed in beautiful makeup and clothing but falling down in the mud. — Marlow Stern, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026