1
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
a plangent, haunting song about a long-ago love
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in loud
marked by a high volume of sound
plangent organ music filled the church
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plangent
Magaletti ventures a tentative introduction of brushes on snares; following the muted peal of distant thunder, upsammy chimes in with a plangent synthesizer sequence reminiscent of Arovane and other IDM producers from around the turn of the millennium.
—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
13 Apr. 2026
Anyone can strike a piano key and generate a note Vladimir Horowitz would be proud of, but getting one plangent tone out of a clarinet is a real triumph.
—
Robert Klose,
Christian Science Monitor,
10 Oct. 2025
The polar figures of 16th-century Italian choral music, Palestrina, the Apollonian master of elegant counterpoint, and Gesualdo, the violent renegade of plangent harmonies, meet on the same program presented by Miller Theater.
—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
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
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
13 Apr. 2026
Anyone can strike a piano key and generate a note Vladimir Horowitz would be proud of, but getting one plangent tone out of a clarinet is a real triumph.
—
Robert Klose,
Christian Science Monitor,
10 Oct. 2025
The polar figures of 16th-century Italian choral music, Palestrina, the Apollonian master of elegant counterpoint, and Gesualdo, the violent renegade of plangent harmonies, meet on the same program presented by Miller Theater.
—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plangent
Adjective
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The years have only intensified Zimmerman’s mournful, hushed vocal performance, and Dream Me a Dream often plays out like a bedtime story spun by a beloved elder, accompanied by soft strings, shakers, and even a synth or two.
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The drama can stir up nostalgia and mournful emotions, and feels personal to many.
Adjective
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The Brookhaven City Council unanimously approved a 40% hike in the city’s property tax rate earlier this week over loud opposition from some residents.
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The equalizer was exactly what Ecuador’s fans needed to get loud, roaring with joy after Germany's early lead was cut.
Adjective
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About a dozen other Republican backers of the Iran war either declined or did not respond to requests for interviews or comment—hardly a ringing endorsement of their president’s negotiating prowess.
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On the other, giving up 24 goals in a five-game loss to a team that immediately forgets how to score and gets swept isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of a team being close to contending.
Adjective
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And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.
Adjective
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The bear was almost on top of us when, with a deafening roar, the shot from both barrels smacked into that enormous shaggy head.
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That doesn’t mean the Avs can’t enjoy themselves, feel pride in an accomplishment or revel in the deafening roar when MacKinnon fired the perfect shot at the perfect time.
Adjective
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The 19-year-old was mocked as a late first-round, early second-round selection.
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The group filed its second lawsuit after the supervisors approved a lease in December allowing United Airlines to make four daily round-trip flights from Carlsbad to San Francisco and Denver.
Adjective
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Relatives of a woman discovered dead by her son with her neck slashed in the lobby of her Brooklyn apartment building are appealing to the public for help with funeral expenses.
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The fundraiser ultimately raised more than $88,000 AUD (about $62,000 USD) to cover funeral expenses, household bills and Axel's future needs.
Adjective
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On shrill winter nights, Moscow’s power is conspicuous, its Orthodox cathedrals and Stalinist high-rises illuminated, though the view falls dim in the autumn and spring, shrouded in sheets of greige.
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The chaos is still an acceptable price to pay for Birney’s expertly offputting performance, a shrill mania that gets increasingly comic over time.
Cite this Entry
“Plangent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plangent. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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