as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
the man sighed plaintively as it became clear that he was getting nowhere with the officious bureaucrat
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 plaintively
The video of Hodges crying out plaintively is the antithesis of how a cop wants to be seen.
—
Jamie Thompson, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Mia plaintively asks Philip at one particularly vulnerable moment.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Jamie Thompson, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Mia plaintively asks Philip at one particularly vulnerable moment.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaintively
Adverb
-
Another cold front bringing bitterly cold temperatures is expected to hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area this weekend, and temperatures could plunge into the teens Saturday morning with a potential for wind chill in the single-digits, according to Prater.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 Jan. 2026
-
After a winter storm covered the commonwealth in snow and ice, much of Kentucky will face bitterly cold temperatures throughout the week, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service in Louisville.—
Caroline Neal,
Louisville Courier Journal,
27 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Victoria won three Grammys at the 2024 awards ceremony — Best New Artist, Best R&B Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical — but sadly, the category Hazel was in didn't earn the mother-daughter duo a golden gramophone.—
Diana Pearl,
PEOPLE,
1 Feb. 2026
-
The urge to brand those of opposing views as evil and out to destroy the country are too great to resist, sadly.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
29 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
For their part, Democratic leaders spoke mournfully of limits, of energy shortages, of national decline, of a crisis of confidence itself.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Based on the Dylan Thomas prose poem of the same name, published in 1952, the film lovingly and mournfully depicts the boyhood Christmastime of an old Welshman, tenderly and a tad mischievously embodied by Elliott.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Ludo Lefebvre echoed the urgency, pointing to the painfully deliberate pace of the recovery.—
Michelle Edgar,
Daily News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
One of those situations was painfully basic.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
25 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plaintively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintively. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
