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
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
One third of the way into Katie Kitamura’s 2017 novel, A Separation, its narrator asks an elderly Greek woman to demonstrate a traditional funeral lamentation.
—Lidija Haas, Harper's Magazine, 3 Mar. 2025
There have been lamentations about the end of an era and anxiety in the fan and creative communities about the risk of over-exploitation of the British super-spy.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lamentation
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
One third of the way into Katie Kitamura’s 2017 novel, A Separation, its narrator asks an elderly Greek woman to demonstrate a traditional funeral lamentation.
—Lidija Haas, Harper's Magazine, 3 Mar. 2025
There have been lamentations about the end of an era and anxiety in the fan and creative communities about the risk of over-exploitation of the British super-spy.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lamentation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lamentation
Noun
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Nangarhar province, Afghanistan CNN — The wail of a woman in a floral dress reverberates through the malnutrition ward and down the stuffy hallways of a hospital in eastern Afghanistan: The unfiltered pain of a mother watching her 1-year-old son die.—
Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou,
CNN Money,
22 July 2025
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Jhon Wilson Vizcaino / AP Another video showed three men cradling a bloodied and limp Uribe, before an ambulance arrived to the sound of wails and screams from the crowd.—
Matteo Moschella,
NBC news,
8 June 2025
Noun
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Following a lengthy hiatus and a period of mourning, the Grammy-winning hard rock outfit reformed with new members, hoping to continue the legacy that Bennington helped start.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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The council additionally issued a two-day state of mourning in response to the tragedy, per a statement shared on Aug. 9.—
Toria Sheffield,
People.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Perfectionism often gets misunderstood as an unstoppable striving for excellence, a quality that many of us would love to (half-heartedly) lament.—
Caroline Mimbs Nyce,
New Yorker,
5 Aug. 2025
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Not least, Mailman is a lament for the decline of service as an American ideal—for the cultural twilight of the Halloween job: those occupations, such as police officer, firefighter, Marine, and, yes, postal worker, whose worth is not measured first and foremost in dollars but in public esteem.—
Tyler Austin Harper,
The Atlantic,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
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And yet, despite serving as a rallying cry among Democrats nationally, this gambit by Texas Democrats is going to fail if history is to be a guide.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
4 Aug. 2025
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Melancholic nylon guitars, murmuring bongos, and the distant cry of a trumpet create a vibe that sounds timeless — the magic is undeniable.—
Tere Aguilera,
Billboard,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
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But Barham plays the role both for plaints and for boasts.—
Jon Caramanica,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
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Gay’s plaint is a variation of the good speakers are born belief.—
Jerry Weissman,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lamentation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lamentation. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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