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
Clad in plaintive whites, Efron and Karagach delivered a searing testimony to the power of dance, through dance.
—
Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Nov. 2025
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
Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Nov. 2025
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
-
McGuire’s goal here is entertainment (achieved) but his empathetic treatment of the indigenous tribes the English come into contact and conflict with gives his novel a mournful air of tragedy.—
Chloe Schama,
Vogue,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Adapted from Denis Johnson’s novella, Train Dreams stars Joel Edgerton in an elegiac, mournful portrait of a logger at the turn of the century.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Jan. 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
-
The page has raised over $14,000 in donations with a goal of $18,000 to cover funeral costs.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Five bikers have been indicted in connection to a bloody brawl between the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club and Demons of Hell Motorcycle Club that began at a funeral service on Long Island.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Neighbors said they were heartbroken to hear about the incident.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The younger brother of a man shot celebrating his birthday in the Bronx witnessed the slaying and was wounded by the gunman too, the siblings’ heartbroken mother revealed Monday.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
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
Adjective
-
This is a fairly faithful rendition of the original, with bushy broccoli rabe as the bitter green of choice.—
Shilpa Uskokovic,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
-
After their murders, their families sat in the bitter cold and grieved, waiting for the prime minister, Imran Khan, to come and mourn with them.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plaintive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintive. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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