as in to whimper
to utter feeble plaintive cries
the tiny kitten mewled for its mother
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Recent Examples of mewl
Their swollen limbs, skeletal frames, and mewling cries of desperation are what keep me awake at night.
—
Jennifer Furin, TIME, 19 Feb. 2025
Stray cats followed us around, mewling from hunger.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Henry has unexpectedly become a dad, and must deal with a screaming, mewling baby that resembles a small skinned animal.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2025
Tannahill, now jerked upside down, would mewl and scream and clamber down a wall.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023
That’s the music I was raised on: Morrissey’s mewling over beautiful, peppy Johnny Marr guitar parts.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2018
Somewhere in the dark of the room, a kitten mewled.
—James Queally and Anh Do, latimes.com, 9 Oct. 2017
The cats, which spent the first day mewling, have mellowed out.
—Warren Richey, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Sep. 2017
Jennifer Furin, TIME, 19 Feb. 2025
Stray cats followed us around, mewling from hunger.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Henry has unexpectedly become a dad, and must deal with a screaming, mewling baby that resembles a small skinned animal.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2025
Tannahill, now jerked upside down, would mewl and scream and clamber down a wall.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023
That’s the music I was raised on: Morrissey’s mewling over beautiful, peppy Johnny Marr guitar parts.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2018
Somewhere in the dark of the room, a kitten mewled.
—James Queally and Anh Do, latimes.com, 9 Oct. 2017
The cats, which spent the first day mewling, have mellowed out.
—Warren Richey, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mewl
Verb
-
Only this version of Slattery is a whimpering scaredy-cat, who unleashes the beast within at a key moment in the film.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
28 Jan. 2026
-
In the video, my dog Leo whimpers at the sound of whistles.—
Meg Anderson,
NPR,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Morrow had begun to cry at the mention of her dead dog’s missing bowl.—
Julia Coin
February 27,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Later, looking at the Post piece about their doomed engagement makes Kelly cry.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mewl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mewl. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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