as in complaining
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1
as in screaming
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
he grumbled about how sore his feet were after standing all day
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grumbling
Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025
Hawke returns too, grumbling and growling behind a rubber mask (and, eventually, some grisly prosthetics).
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 21 Sep. 2025
By the late ‘90s and early 2000s, anglers started grumbling about too many striped bass.
—Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 17 Sep. 2025
University administrators should support tough professors and resist the temptation to placate grumbling undergraduates.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grumbling
Verb
Guaranteed, prospective postseason opponents are grumbling a bit now.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025
Hawke returns too, grumbling and growling behind a rubber mask (and, eventually, some grisly prosthetics).
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 21 Sep. 2025
By the late ‘90s and early 2000s, anglers started grumbling about too many striped bass.
—Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 17 Sep. 2025
University administrators should support tough professors and resist the temptation to placate grumbling undergraduates.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grumbling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grumbling
Verb
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But Frederica Wilson, a Democratic congresswoman from South Florida, vividly remembers her constituents complaining about one Facebook ad in particular.—
David Smiley,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
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About 20% of fire department employees responded to the survey, with large majorities of those respondents complaining about discrimination, diversity and inclusion programs and a wide range of organizational issues.—
Aaron Valdez,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The boats hit the Gulf of Mexico before dawn, engines rumbling out diesel smoke while dead-eyed gulls clear their throats and wait to feast on the fishermen’s leftovers.—
Dan Morrison,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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Thousands stomped in the bleachers, creating rumbling waves of adoration.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Agents appear to fight off a screaming crowd trying to help the man by pushing them away and threatening them with pepper spray.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
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There’s nothing like stepping onto the ice with thousands of screaming school children on top of you after an early-morning bus ride to play in an early-morning game to remind you’re in the AHL rather than the NHL.—
Scott Powers,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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In an hour’s span, three trucks leaving the construction site silenced the conversation, growling loudly down Rockland Drive.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
3 Nov. 2025
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Instead of another room with a priest and young woman growling on the bed, the exorcisms in The Wailing are accompanied by chanting crowds, firepits, and drums beating as a great spectacle is made of the ritual.—
Michael Lee Simpson,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Chip heeled tight to my left, his ears laid back, whining softly.—
Joel M. Vance,
Outdoor Life,
29 Oct. 2025
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Marcus poked out his bottom lip, but no whining this time.—
Lizz Schumer,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
There’s something moaning in the background.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
10 Oct. 2025
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The deputies ultimately roll him over before putting on handcuffs as Mull can be heard moaning in pain.—
Nathaniel Percy,
Oc Register,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grumbling. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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