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puling

verb

present participle of pule
as in whimpering
to utter feeble plaintive cries a distressed baby puling in its crib

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for puling
  1. whimpering
  2. crying
Verb
  • That admission led to gasps and whimpering by several courtroom observers.
    — Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 11 June 2026
  • As the timer passed seven minutes, Steve Eckert exhorted a whimpering young man to dunk his head underwater.
    — Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Definition of whimpering
Verb
  • The investigation began May 4, 2025, when the city of Riverside officials received reports of a baby crying inside a dumpster.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
  • This audience listened in awed silence, and by the end of the song, everyone around us was crying as well, before jolting upward in a spontaneous standing ovation — one of three.
    — James Gunn, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of crying
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.

Browse Nearby Words

pules
puling
pull
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Cite this Entry

“Puling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puling. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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