moaning 1 of 2

adjective

as in crying

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moaning

2 of 2

verb

present participle of moan
1
as in groaning
to utter a moan he moaned and cried for days after his dog, his only companion, died

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in complaining
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely their son moaned whenever anyone asked him to do some work

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 moaning
Verb
It's been a big few months for Austin Abrams moaning and groaning his way through some of the worst situations imaginable. — Megan McCluskey, Time, 16 Oct. 2026 For a cold moment the silence locked a grip on our table, though it was broken, at the edges, by the golf commentators moaning and harrumphing, Rory McIlroy having had a canary on a seventeenth fairway somewhere this championship Sunday. — Kevin Barry, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026 By the time Fowler gave up trying to put one in Carruthers, DiLiberato could hear her client moaning and see blood oozing out of his puncture wounds. — Keri Blakinger, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2026 At the same time, Plog placed a phone call to a relative and can be heard moaning and screaming in pain. — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026 Hall wrote in his report that Hamilton lay down in the backseat of the police vehicle, moaning and not responding, prompting first responders to give him Narcan. — Arkansas Online, 14 Aug. 2026 Video released by the Milwaukie Police Department shows Descamps sprawled in a hospital bed, his body limp, moaning and drooling, while medical staff stood nearby. — Brian Mann, NPR, 6 Aug. 2026 Swinging his hips, moaning into the mic and briefly getting promiscuous with a mic stand was the authenticity that the majority-millennial crowd expected. — Sophie Lindberg july 11, Kansas City Star, 12 July 2026 Federal officers stand over a man with a bloody shirt who is handcuffed face down, moaning in pain as his left foot shakes. — Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moaning
  1. crying
  2. groaning
  3. complaining
  4. howling
  5. sobbing
  6. screaming
  7. unhappy
  8. whining
Adjective
  • Some in the pro-crying camp pointed to articles and headlines as proof.
    — Jon Sarlin, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
Definition of crying
Verb
  • Wartman was still strapped in the car, groaning, Karras said.
    — Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Working again with the vast Northeastern producer group $$$–almost all of whom are individually credited on, like, every track–Bank$ and his preacher friend talk to God over spare keys and groaning nautical machinery.
    — Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of groaning
Verb
  • By July, morale among immigration officers had dipped below its nadir during the Biden Administration, with agents now complaining of being overextended, inundated with novice recruits, and undermined by inflammatory rhetoric from on high.
    — Francisco Cantú, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Some 35,000 plaintiffs were compensated after complaining of personal injury and property damage to their homes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of complaining
Adjective
  • Either that, or the Daily Mail editors had a howling good time with publication dates.
    — Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2026
  • In the elk- and deer-rich areas of northern Yellowstone National Park, ravens are often among the first scavengers to arrive on the scene, swooping down to feast on scraps left behind by the howling canines.
    — Nidhi Sharma, Popular Science, 12 Mar. 2026
Definition of howling
Verb
  • Police believe she was knocked to the ground and could be heard gasping for breath and sobbing before the video ended, the warrant affidavit said.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Zheng clinched with her first match point chance, serving an ace to Andreeva’s backhand side, then fell to the court sobbing with emotion.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of sobbing
Verb
  • Young and the Panthers couldn’t capitalize on the iconic opportunity, though, and ultimately fell to the screaming green-and-gold parishioners, 27-19.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Still, the very idea of such a thing freezes my brain, locking it into a mental feedback loop that’s the equivalent of running around in a tight circle flapping my arms wildly and screaming.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of screaming
Adjective
  • The electorate is frustrated and unhappy Voters were sour heading into Tuesday, with the midterm electorate deeply unhappy with the country’s direction and pessimistic about the future, according to The AP Voter Poll.
    — Jill Colvin, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Voting is the only way out for anyone who’s unhappy with a government headed toward authoritarianism.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of unhappy
Verb
  • Just thank God you were born female and stop whining over your bad choices.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • While the left spent all week whining about Sophie Cunningham's hat and firing squad best practices, us PATRIOTS were biding our time, keeping our heads down, and grinding towards another weekend.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of whining

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moaning
moans
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Cite this Entry

“Moaning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moaning. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

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