as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
the puppy's plaintive expression after we put the toy away was rather amusing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plaintive
Andersen issues a plaintive and impassioned plea for understanding and compassion about the plight and perilous circumstances of refugees.
—
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026
The electric version starts the same, but that plaintive wail sounds more like a call to mischief.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
Her plaintive denials on screen are robbed of any credibility by an inescapable sense of overwhelming resentment.
—Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
His voice is very high and plaintive.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for plaintive
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026
The electric version starts the same, but that plaintive wail sounds more like a call to mischief.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
Her plaintive denials on screen are robbed of any credibility by an inescapable sense of overwhelming resentment.
—Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
His voice is very high and plaintive.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for plaintive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaintive
Adjective
-
Such memories flowed freely this week on social media and in mournful first-person essays.—
Dan Adler,
Vanity Fair,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Newsom shakes his head, seeming more mournful than angry.—
Maya Singer,
Vogue,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
-
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
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When Goodspeed failed to repay her, she was forced to take out loans and use credit cards to cover funeral expenses after her relative died.—
Doug Myers,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
-
An imam was hauled up from his small room adjacent to his small mosque and ordered to get ready to lead the funeral prayers of a very important man.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
That title follows the tragic story of British teenager Molly Russell, who was driven by social media to take her own life in 2017, and her heartbroken father’s quest to uncover the truth behind her death.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
25 Feb. 2026
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Savannah Guthrie and her heartbroken family are now offering a $1 million reward in hopes of receiving information about the whereabouts of their mother, Nancy Guthrie, who went missing from her Tucson, Arizona, home nearly a month ago.—
Cheyenne Roundtree,
Rolling Stone,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Sitting opposite an old people’s home in a residential corner of Paris’ 14th arrondissement, La Santé’s unassuming presence is only given away by the occasional wailing siren as prisoners are transported to and from the site.—
Joseph Ataman,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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During that window, sour and bitter foods can taste sweet, making meals more tolerable.—
Ivan Taylor,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
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The concept was revived by Olympic officials and the United Nations in the early 1990s, as bitter conflicts raged in the Balkans.—
Brian Mann,
NPR,
1 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plaintive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintive. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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