lament 1 of 2

Definition of lamentnext
1
2
as in to regret
to feel sorry or dissatisfied about the youth lamented not having spent more time with his late grandfather

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

lament

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb lament differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of lament are bemoan, bewail, and deplore. While all these words mean "to express grief or sorrow for something," lament implies a profound or demonstrative expression of sorrow.

lamenting the loss of their only child

How do bewail and bemoan relate to one another, in the sense of lament?

Both bewail and bemoan imply sorrow, disappointment, or protest finding outlet in words or cries, bewail commonly suggesting loudness, and bemoan lugubriousness.

fans bewailed the defeat
purists bemoaning the corruption of the language

When is it sensible to use deplore instead of lament?

The words deplore and lament are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, deplore implies regret for the loss or impairment of something of value.

deplores the breakdown in family values

How does the verb lament differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of lament are bemoan, bewail, and deplore. While all these words mean "to express grief or sorrow for something," lament implies a profound or demonstrative expression of sorrow.

lamenting the loss of their only child

How do bewail and bemoan relate to one another, in the sense of lament?

Both bewail and bemoan imply sorrow, disappointment, or protest finding outlet in words or cries, bewail commonly suggesting loudness, and bemoan lugubriousness.

fans bewailed the defeat
purists bemoaning the corruption of the language

When is it sensible to use deplore instead of lament?

The words deplore and lament are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, deplore implies regret for the loss or impairment of something of value.

deplores the breakdown in family values

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 lament
Verb
Willy laments to his stout and thankless wife, Linda (Laurie Metcalf, upholding her reputation as a Broadway MVP), that buyers on the road laugh at him — that one even called him a shrimp. Naveen Kumar, Variety, 10 Apr. 2026 At the rally a day earlier, one man on a motorbike lamented that he had not been paid for two months in his job at an education company and had been forced to work at Snapp, the Iranian Uber. Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 10 Apr. 2026
Noun
Ravel imagined his Pavane not as a lament for a dead princess, but as a gentle dance for a little girl in a 16th century painting. Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 1 Mar. 2026 The vulnerability could not have been more perfectly channeled than through the lament of Hall’s voice and the honesty of Mondesire’s presence. Rachel Howard, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lament
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lament
Verb
  • The ​Iranian delegation arrived dressed in black in mourning for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and others killed in the war.
    Azhar Sukri,Kevin Breuninger,Terri Cullen, CNBC, 11 Apr. 2026
  • When the popular Italian restaurant Caffe Vialetto closed in 2025 after 26 years of feeding families and sharing milestones, diners across Miami mourned the loss of the Coral Gables icon, a stable oasis for quiet dinners and family celebrations in a wildly changing culinary landscape.
    Connie Ogle April 9, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • This is a beast that’s more fun than furious, who clearly and swiftly regrets his violent outbursts.
    Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Caroline wouldn’t have been surprised if her own parents had regretted having her.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • And from the stage, the unmistakable wail of a harmonica cut through the warm April air.
    Walker Armstrong, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026
  • There was grit and grime to his feedback-heavy guitar wails, but there was sweep and grandeur too, more apparent on stage than on record.
    Piet Levy, jsonline.com, 28 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • The organ that colored all the earlier tales of youthful exuberance now plays a funeral dirge.
    David Glickman, Pitchfork, 27 Mar. 2026
  • Swedish singer-composer Anna von Hausswolff, whose cathedral melodies, intense vocals and doom-laden dirges share much in common with Nordic heavy-metal culture, specializes in mystery and grandiosity.
    Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Both motors stay at or below 45 dBA even at full power, something that will genuinely surprise anyone used to the whine of current-generation motors.
    Omar Kardoudi April 10, New Atlas, 10 Apr. 2026
  • The whine from that straight-cut gearbox alone is painfully loud, say nothing of the wide-open exhaust on the 4.0 L flat-six.
    Tim Stevens, ArsTechnica, 16 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • For Marks, the blues isn’t about lamentation.
    Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2026
  • The anniversary of the massacre is commemorated by Shia communities every year, often with processions and acts of lamentation.
    Mishal Husain, Bloomberg, 13 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • To say an elegy by heart/to zero our dying before birth.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
  • The show, a sort of elegy for Gen X, opens with a flash-forward to July 16, 1999, the final hours of Carolyn and John.
    Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Where my world was hemmed in by ridgelines and holler roads, Mary Lennox’s world was hemmed in by fog and wind and the low moan of a manor house that seemed to breathe on its own.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Mar. 2026
  • Under Hiller, the Kings went into the Olympic break with a whimper and came out of it with a moan.
    Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 1 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Lament.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lament. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.

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