plaintive

adjective

ˈplān-tiv How to pronounce plaintive (audio)
Definition of plaintivenext
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning the puppy's plaintive expression after we put the toy away was rather amusing

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 plaintive Park’s plaintive gamer-vampire is witty, too. — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 16 June 2026 The plaintive melodies are mournful yet comforting. — Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 12 May 2026 The record includes generic corn too, which even Langley’s plaintive voice can’t save. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 21 Apr. 2026 The steady, unwavering empathy of her gaze encompasses a universe of tiny, interlaced incidents in which the zany entwines the plaintive, or the tragic the comic. — Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for plaintive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaintive
  1. mournful
  2. weeping
  3. funeral
  4. heartbroken
  5. wailing
  6. bitter
Adjective
  • East Suffolk, a windblown span of marshy coastland, has a reputation for stark, mournful beauty, and for drawing creative people with a taste for isolation and escape.
    — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • And after Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl died in 2024, dozens of mournful fans gathered to say goodbye to the beloved creature who flew around Manhattan and became a joy to many after someone let him out of his zoo enclosure the previous year.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of mournful
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
Definition of weeping
Adjective
  • One Chicago priest dying from cancer was denied a funeral mass at her longtime parish.
    — Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The GoFundMe organizer said the family was seeking help covering funeral expenses for Stone and her children.
    — Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of funeral
Adjective
  • While mourning her father, the heartbroken Sara uses a piece of chalk to draw a circle on the floor of the attic resembling the one Rama creates to protect Sita.
    — Sohini Sarah Pillai, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire honored Macy at a county Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday, telling community leaders that her death had left his office and the wider community heartbroken.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of heartbroken
Adjective
  • 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
Definition of wailing
Adjective
  • In the ensuing decade, lawyers at Texas Instruments and at Fairchild fought a bitter court battle over the patent.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • And as a bitter midterm campaign season enters its final weeks, Bouchon and Goldhirsh understand the stakes.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of bitter

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plaintive
plaintively
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Cite this Entry

“Plaintive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintive. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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