as in wail
a crying out in grief
there was a great lamentation on Wall Street when the government's latest unemployment figures were published
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Recent Examples of lamentation
The album’s Bandcamp blurb shouts out Ghédalia Tarzatès, the late French composer who collaged his wails and lamentations in the endangered Ladino language to evoke pangs of existential angst.
—
H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
The ghetto is full of lamentation.
—Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2026
The space was replete with the repetitive knocking of drumsticks, the undulating rhythm of Qur’anic prayers, and the gut-wrenching murmur of lamentation coming from That is not still (Sesuatu yang tidak berdiam), a 2024 video work about Indonesia’s diverse soundscape.
—Hung Duong, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
The language surrounding Bailey echoes sentiments from the 1990s and early 2000s, when public revelations of a celebrity’s homosexuality often triggered exaggerated lamentations from straight female fans.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lamentation
H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
The ghetto is full of lamentation.
—Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2026
The space was replete with the repetitive knocking of drumsticks, the undulating rhythm of Qur’anic prayers, and the gut-wrenching murmur of lamentation coming from That is not still (Sesuatu yang tidak berdiam), a 2024 video work about Indonesia’s diverse soundscape.
—Hung Duong, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
The language surrounding Bailey echoes sentiments from the 1990s and early 2000s, when public revelations of a celebrity’s homosexuality often triggered exaggerated lamentations from straight female fans.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lamentation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lamentation
Noun
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The resulting wail is certainly not kitten-like, sounding more like a cross between a sport bike and a completely uncorked race car.—
Byron Hurd,
The Drive,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Mitchell has made the point before that every new technology brings wails that the fish won’t survive.—
Mike McFeely,
Twin Cities,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Through your tears, see a brief, shimmering vision of What Might Have Been.—
Ian Frazier,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
My eyes, raw and stinging, now filled with their own salty tears.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
4 May 2026
Noun
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Jefferson Lewis, 47, was arrested Thursday for the alleged murder of a five-year-old girl now known as Kumanjayi Little Baby, a pseudonym given by her family as a cultural measure among their Indigenous Warlpiri people to avoid the utterance of a deceased person’s name during a mourning period.—
Angus Watson,
CNN Money,
1 May 2026
-
Guzmán declared three days of mourning starting Sunday.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
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This morning, the eminent critic Dwight Garner published a lament for the institutional book critic—via his own institution, The New York Times.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
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The sinew between Thundercat and Tame Impala is thick and obvious—one reason that Bruner doesn’t need ubiquitous Kevin Parker’s lethargic laments.—
Daniel Felsenthal,
Pitchfork,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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If recent history repeats, new cries could come from the crowd, too.—
Josh Gross,
Daily News,
2 May 2026
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The handwritten note is the part that will actually make her cry, so do not skip that step.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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It’s been splendid watching the weeping and gnashing of teeth from American MAGA supporters.—
Steven Greenhut,
Oc Register,
17 Apr. 2026
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In the hands of the six-piece band, the shivering chords of that miniature apocalyptic soul song build into a cathartic climax, which Wasner punctuates with weeping slide guitar.—
Mitch Therieau,
Pitchfork,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Simmons became a star when groans were the franchise soundtrack.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
30 Apr. 2026
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Kimmel’s joke was met with an almost even number of laughs and groans, but little did anyone know that two days later at the actual WHCD there would be a shooting that derailed the entire night.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Such prices have set off howls of protest from some fans.—
James Rainey,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
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My 2-year-old daughter’s howls of protest echoed through the previously silent forest of towering Norway spruce.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lamentation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lamentation. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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