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
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
-
The ultra-chic crewneck sweater has a slightly oversized fit that’s perfect for cozying up on a long-haul flight and or layering with a turtleneck on bitterly cold winter days.—
Melony Forcier,
Travel + Leisure,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Not bitterly, not hysterically—openly, with the sound of someone arriving at a recognition both painful and clarifying.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
17 Feb. 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
-
That means some of the oddball stuff that had a moment toward the end of the Peak TV boom is falling away, sadly — no one’s greenlighting something as off kilter as The OA or Servant these days.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Some rooms and terraces overlook the gothic Wrigley and Tribune Buildings (now, sadly, condos), and Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago are a few blocks away.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Feb. 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
-
But Wemby got his painfully cool peers to play along, to pick up the tempo – and their defense, often at half court.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
16 Feb. 2026
-
My path has crossed languages and cultures, continents and genres, sometimes gracefully, sometimes a little painfully, but always guided by curiosity and deep faith in cinema.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plaintively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintively. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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