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

Asadi-Moghaddam and Seneker do not have any discipline cases or public complaints against them, according to their license verification pages on the Florida Department of Health website.

— Zoey Thomas, Sun Sentinel, 29 Oct. 2026
Within hours, complaints began appearing online from people who said their new phones developed cracks along the folding display.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of complaints

Noun

When the sun goes down, the wind picks up in central New Mexico, whipping through arid canyons with a ghostly howl that for centuries, locals have likened to the wails of the folkloric ghost La Llorona.

— Sara Herschander, Vox, 22 Oct. 2026
No wet plop of a SpongeBob ice cream bar crashing onto hot asphalt; a child’s apocalyptic wails ensuing.

— Allyson Reedy, Denver Post, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of wails

Noun

The unrest began in France in mid-September with student demonstrations over school conditions, then spread to other countries, where protests have centered on local grievances.

— Amanda Macias, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Nearly 1,000 people were detained across France Saturday as a wave of largely-peaceful protests airing economic grievances returned to the streets of its major cities, mirroring similar demonstrations across Europe.

— Jonny Hallam, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of grievances

Noun

Salman burst into tears on hearing the verdict, as did one of her relatives in the front row.

— ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026
Fort Worth police Officer Buddy Calzada read a letter from Everman Mayor Ray Richardson, who stood in the audience in light blue with tears on his cheeks.

— Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of tears

Noun

Her friend’s cries mixed with the sound of police car sirens before officers arrived and escorted students and staff out the building.

— Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026
When news got around that a new movie version of Sense and Sensibility was in the works, cries of dismay rang forth from Bath to Brooklyn.

— Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 16 Oct. 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 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of plaints

noun

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