PLAINTS Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

plaints

noun

plural of plaint

as in lamentations

a crying out in grief the day after the massacre the plaints of bereaved mothers and wives could be heard throughout the village

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as in whines

an expression of dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment that taxes are too high is perhaps the most perennial of plaints

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaints

Noun

These rock lamentations will not be carried over to the full-length album the band still has in the works, which Bono promises will have a more joyful tone.

— Chris Willman, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026
The album’s Bandcamp blurb shouts out Ghédalia Tarzatès, the late French composer who collaged his wails and lamentations in the endangered Ladino language to evoke pangs of existential angst.

— H.D. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026

Definition of lamentations

Noun

Park officials, meanwhile, have long fielded scores of complaints about other head and neck injuries sustained after riding the attraction, according to internal records cited by an expert witness for a plaintiff in court filings.

— Blake Ellis, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
Mexican diplomats have filed complaints with the Justice Department, eight attorneys general and 12 district attorneys.

— Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of complaints

Noun

Memory tends to lose sound quickly, but even years later, Jake’s mother’s wails play with the same staccatos and double chords.

— Caroline Cherston, STAT, 25 Aug. 2026
Mourners beat their chests rhythmically in the intense summer heat, the wails of women cutting through the noise as the body of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was unveiled beneath a glass case at the Grand Mosalla.

— Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 4 July 2026

Definition of wails

Noun

In summer as well as in winter, beneath a beach umbrella just as much as under the cold carapace of a Toronto sky in December, rap’s pretty boy little brother is sort of always talking about the many grievances he’s picked up along the way.

— Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2026
During his lifetime, no book of Twain’s sold as well as quickly, fueling his chronic grievances with publishers.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of grievances

Noun

In the decades after his death, Johnson’s loose playing and harrowing moans set American music on a path that would encompass Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, even Nas.

— Steven Johnson, Washington Post, 14 July 2026
Sweet tweets, soft moans, the distant caw of a shore bird piloting toward the sea, spirited and hopeful, daylight already breaking through.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026

Definition of moans

Noun

These developments prompted more cries of outrage, including one from the Democratic senator Mark Warner, who has introduced a bill that would ban social-media companies from selling fast access to accounts of government employees.

— John Cassidy, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
That kind of front-loading also gives parents a buffer if a child freezes up, cries or needs an extra hug before heading out.

— Ashley Lynch, Miami Herald, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of cries

Noun

The other main track of Diamanda’s career is her interpretations of old standards, Gospel songs, laments, and folk tunes.

— Matt Thompson, SPIN, 21 Aug. 2026
Her laments are now laced with fury, as genocidal wars and murderous technologies join global warming in the twenty-first century’s third decade.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of laments

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.

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“Plaints.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaints. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of plaints

noun

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