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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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

Despite high-profile billionaire departures and complaints about costs, California is pulling in more than $335 billion in venture capital — about ten times New York — fueled by an AI boom.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
City officials didn’t respond Wednesday to any of the complaints and concerns raised by the hoteliers.

— David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2026

Definition of complaints

Noun

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
After a second of consideration, Naim slams the grate shut to the monster’s wails, and the audience’s relief.

— Arushi Jacob, Variety, 19 June 2026

Definition of wails

Noun

Kyle Kuzma aired out his grievances with the NBA’s current collective bargaining agreement Friday and shot off some fireworks before the July Fourth weekend.

— Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Her husband is jubilant at her return, but her friend Cee reacts very differently, and old grievances surface as the true price of Helen’s departure comes into focus.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 July 2026

Definition of grievances

Noun

The moans announced the doubt throughout Riviera’s 18th green amphitheater, a bowl full of thousands of fans unsure if the new guy could do it.

— Brody Miller, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
At the moment that B’Tselem says Hathaleen collapsed, the visuals are jostled but moans of pain can be heard.

— Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2026

Definition of moans

Noun

As the bodies were returned to their families, cries echoed through the neighborhood.

— ABC News, ABC News, 1 July 2026
The other was a tearing beauty, a creature so lovely that one look at her sent young men’s blood pressure skyward and set them to uttering wild, hoarse cries and tearing telephone directories apart with the bare hands.

— John Madson, Outdoor Life, 1 July 2026

Definition of cries

Noun

Warnings, laments, and odes to renewal were expressed pictorially as dying days under bleeding heavens, belching volcanoes, proud icebergs, lavish rainbows amid spangling, mist-suffusing sunlight and dawns of peace and hope.

— Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
The sinew between Thundercat and Tame Impala is thick and obvious—one reason that Bruner doesn’t need ubiquitous Kevin Parker’s lethargic laments.

— Daniel Felsenthal, Pitchfork, 7 Apr. 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 10 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of plaints

noun

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