PLAINT Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

plaint

noun

ˈplānt

Definition of plaint

as in lamentation

a crying out in grief the day after the massacre the plaints of bereaved mothers and wives could be heard throughout the village

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in complaint

an expression of dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment that taxes are too high is perhaps the most perennial of plaints

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 plaint Like Emanuel and his comrades, Harper and his film go a meaningful way in asking and offering an answer to that plaint. — Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026 Gay’s plaint is a variation of the good speakers are born belief. — Jerry Weissman, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025 This wry, lovelorn plaint is a cagey display of subtle dynamics and counterpoint on a lone electric guitar. — Jon Pareles, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaint

Noun

Ḥusayn’s death became for the Shiʿah a symbol of selfless resistance against worldly injustice and tyranny and is commemorated with lamentation each year on Ashura.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 July 2026
Moments of humor sit alongside lamentation and ritual intensity, underscoring the exhibition’s refusal of a single, fixed reading.

— George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 20 Apr. 2026

Definition of lamentation

Noun

The police investigation was launched following complaints from relatives of the victims of the Gwangju crackdown, which official records say left about 200 people dead.

— ABC News, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
The New York complaint is built to wound, and its details travel beyond the penalty math.

— Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of complaint

Noun

Mourners beat their chests rhythmically in the intense summer heat, the wails of women cutting through the noise as the body of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was unveiled beneath a glass case at the Grand Mosalla.

— Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 4 July 2026
After a second of consideration, Naim slams the grate shut to the monster’s wails, and the audience’s relief.

— Arushi Jacob, Variety, 19 June 2026

Definition of wail

Noun

Martin was then immediately handcuffed and arrested as the little girl’s cries were heard from inside the car.

— Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 2 Aug. 2026
The cries of seagulls, water lapping against the boat, the rumble of engines and the arrival of speedboats ferrying cast and crew give the sense of sharing the actors’ long waits on the open water.

— Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 29 July 2026

Definition of cry

Noun

Her laments are now laced with fury, as genocidal wars and murderous technologies join global warming in the twenty-first century’s third decade.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026
For those unable to buy a ticket, fan zones offered communal space to celebrate or lament.

— Kian Bakhtiari, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026