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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Recent Examples of plaintive
The jazz piano of Bill Evans was characterized by grace and poise, a lightness of touch yielding a plaintive depth of feeling, that belied a life beset with chaos and tragedy.
—
Guy Lodge, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
In the following days, as rumors began to spread of severe cuts, the paper’s reporters began posting messages directed at Bezos on X, with the plaintive hashtag #SaveThePost.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for plaintive
Guy Lodge, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
In the following days, as rumors began to spread of severe cuts, the paper’s reporters began posting messages directed at Bezos on X, with the plaintive hashtag #SaveThePost.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for plaintive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaintive
Adjective
-
Over the years, humpback whale songs have been recorded for human listening, with many describing the songs as having a haunting, mournful quality.—
Patrick Whittle,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Humpback whales, which can weigh more than 55,000 pounds, are the ocean's most renowned singers, capable of complex vocalizations that can sound ethereal or even mournful.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 Mar. 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
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
-
After her radiation treatment, Peet returned a clear scan in January of this year, and soon after began making funeral arrangements for her mother; Peet’s father died in 2025 amid the cancer ordeal.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
22 Mar. 2026
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Attorneys for both Macy and Mallory Morphew said in their initial filing that their mother's remains were at Swan Lake Funeral Home in Colorado Springs, and had a funeral service planned for their mother when law enforcement took possession of the body.—
Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The story unfolds in Enoshima, Japan, where a middle-aged salaryman, unable to submit his resignation letter, meets a heartbroken young Korean man at a ramen shop.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
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The comedy lies in the unwavering sincerity with which every ridiculous twist is treated, from one-night stands with a cuy fighter and multiple fires to violent abductions and a heartbroken lover riding her motorcycle off a cliff.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
18 Mar. 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
-
Lang plays the antagonist, a bitter Alpine waiter whose family recipe for Grappa involves alchemy and witchcraft.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
23 Mar. 2026
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It's been three months since a ceasefire ended bitter border fighting between Cambodia and Thailand, but signs of combat are cut deep in this 11th-century temple atop a 525-meter (1,722-foot) cliff in the Dangrek Mountain range.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plaintive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintive. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.
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