1
as in wail
a crying out in grief
when the underdogs lost the playoffs, the groans of millions of disappointed fans were heard throughout the land
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in moan
a long low sound indicating pain or grief
let out a groan when he tried to stand on the sprained ankle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to moan
to utter a moan
heard someone groaning in pain
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 groan
Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2025
There’s been a lot of groaning this March about the lack of upsets in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 30 Mar. 2025
The audience groaned upon hearing about Jelly's bothersome habit.
—Marina Watts, People.com, 18 Apr. 2025
When the first two rounds of 10% tariffs hit, Zou Guoqing, a Chinese exporter, groaned but didn't find the barriers insurmountable.
—Arkansas Online, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for groan
Verb
An Associated Press reporter who witnessed the execution said that Mahdi cried out as the shots hit him and then groaned twice about 45 seconds after that.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2025
There’s been a lot of groaning this March about the lack of upsets in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 30 Mar. 2025
The audience groaned upon hearing about Jelly's bothersome habit.
—Marina Watts, People.com, 18 Apr. 2025
When the first two rounds of 10% tariffs hit, Zou Guoqing, a Chinese exporter, groaned but didn't find the barriers insurmountable.
—Arkansas Online, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for groan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for groan
Noun
-
Augustina and Blessing are proof of that, milling outside the prison walls, caught between madcap laughter and wails of pain — the polarities of grief.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
29 Mar. 2025
-
War within a war Rosalinda Cabanillas lets out a guttural wail that echoes across the entire cemetery.—
Isobel Yeung,
CNN Money,
2 May 2025
Noun
-
The eyes start rolling and the moans come out when dudes get super gooned.—
Mikelle Street,
Them.,
6 May 2025
-
The courtroom reverberated with the anguished moans and last breaths of Brianna Kupfer.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
19 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The last flareup in the early 2010s involved a string of self-immolation incidents that critics called a desperate cry against the Chinese government’s ever-tightening grip on Tibetan society.—
Steven Jiang,
CNN Money,
1 May 2025
-
The cry here is not one of vulnerability or angst but the unruly register of creative freedom, of calling your power back.—
Harmony Holiday,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Studio Nicholas Venezia In Janáček’s Quartet No. 1, the Takács ratcheted up the genre’s conversational quality into high drama, widening the expressive gulf between the opening lamentation and the skittering response.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
2 May 2025
-
Biblical-style lamentations over Israel’s final corruption have been a staple of the state’s critics and die-hard anti-Zionists for 70 years.—
Martin Kramer,
Foreign Affairs,
8 June 2016
Noun
-
The long-standing lament that Latin American conservatives, centrists, and leftists share is that whereas the United States comes to the region to punish and lecture, China comes to trade.—
Will Freeman,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2025
-
Deeply layered and emotionally charged, the work reads like a visual lament, for what’s been lost, what still remains, and the unresolved stories that continue to flow beneath the surface.—
Nel-Olivia Waga,
Forbes.com,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Loyola players decided after much reflection and mourning to play Friday’s Southern Section Open Division playoff match against Harvard-Westlake.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2025
-
Ask Them to Tell You Their Stories This lack of acknowledgment underscores a broader societal discomfort with sustained mourning.—
Rebecca Soffer,
Time,
10 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Groan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groan. Accessed 18 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share