plangent

adjective

ˈplan-jənt How to pronounce plangent (audio)
Definition of plangentnext
1
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning a plangent, haunting song about a long-ago love

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in loud
marked by a high volume of sound plangent organ music filled the church

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in ringing
marked by conspicuously full and rich sounds or tones the strong, plangent tones of a Louis Armstrong trumpet solo

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of plangent Musically, the song is indistinguishable from most modern country — a plangent guitar melody leading the way, followed by the sinister percussive drop of a trap beat. — Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 21 May 2025 The composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, that warhorse of English traditionalism, is mentioned six times, and his plangent music—invoking a lost, idyllic England; a greener, more pleasant land—could easily be the novel’s soundtrack. — Charles McGrath, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2024 Indeed the music, with its banging, techno-style beats looped against plangent piano, analogizes Jamal’s predicament rather perfectly. — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 25 Mar. 2023 That deft level of craft is maintained throughout, while the aching musical bed by contemporary composer Nico Muhly adds just the right tone of plangent despair tinged with hope. — Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for plangent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plangent
  1. mournful
  2. loud
  3. ringing
  4. weeping
  5. deafening
  6. round
  7. funeral
  8. shrill
Adjective
  • East Suffolk, a windblown span of marshy coastland, has a reputation for stark, mournful beauty, and for drawing creative people with a taste for isolation and escape.
    — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • And after Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl died in 2024, dozens of mournful fans gathered to say goodbye to the beloved creature who flew around Manhattan and became a joy to many after someone let him out of his zoo enclosure the previous year.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of mournful
Adjective
  • Where the movies are big, loud, overpopulated machines, the TV series are full of interesting ideas, weird notions and good comedy and give their characters room to breathe.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The doors finally open Store Manager Patrick McGuinness welcomed customers pushing their shopping carts into the store while leading loud chants, such as spelling out Wegmans letter by letter.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of loud
Adjective
  • Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham was asked about Underwood’s security in the starting job earlier this week and hardly offered up a ringing endorsement.
    — Bruce Feldman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Martha-Mary Chapel, Sudbury Reverend Bryce (Toby Huss) presides over the town church, where mysterious ringing bells seem to indicate something dark is afoot.
    — Nicholas DeRenzo, Travel + Leisure, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of ringing
Adjective
  • And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.
    — David Mamet, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022
  • The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.
    — Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021
Definition of weeping
Adjective
  • The sound is practically deafening, a loud metallic pang that cuts through the forest’s thick foliage.
    — Taylor Mitchell Brown, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • By the time Obsession made it to TIFF, the buzz on social media had become deafening.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of deafening
Adjective
  • The round dining table conveys a sense of clarity and play on geometry.
    — Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • And then there are the classic round-diamond necklaces, which have become something of a modern wardrobe staple.
    — Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of round
Adjective
  • One Chicago priest dying from cancer was denied a funeral mass at her longtime parish.
    — Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The GoFundMe organizer said the family was seeking help covering funeral expenses for Stone and her children.
    — Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of funeral
Adjective
  • With a soprano voice that’s sharp but never shrill, O’Donovan can levitate a heartfelt melody over just about any kind of accompaniment.
    — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026
  • When Caleb Hammer, a thirty-one-year-old personal-finance YouTuber, gets particularly exasperated, his voice enters a shrill upper register.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of shrill

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planing
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Cite this Entry

“Plangent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plangent. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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