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
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Recent Examples of plaintively
Mia plaintively asks Philip at one particularly vulnerable moment.
—
Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaintively
Adverb
-
Joe Garcia spoke bitterly about the decline of governance on both sides of the Straits of Florida.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
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At the start of the season, the Braves lost seven in a row, setting the tone for a bitterly disappointing campaign.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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In the Western Conference, sadly, a Joker alone won’t be enough to win the pot.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
30 Sep. 2025
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That is sadly the position Princess Beatrice finds herself in after the recent scandals her mother, Sarah Ferguson, and her father, Prince Andrew, have been embroiled in.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
29 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
My day in court is painfully overdue.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
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Previously, the story followed Zagreus, the painfully cool son of Hades who spent his days making a break for the surface world to escape the overbearing grip of his father.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plaintively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintively. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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