wailed

past tense of wail
1
2
as in howled
to make a long loud mournful sound the women stood beside the coffins, wailing for their fallen sons and daughters

Synonyms & Similar Words

3

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 wailed As the siren wailed before kickoff on the rainy night the stadium scoreboards flashed HURRICANE WARNING. Miami Herald, 1 Sep. 2025 Probably no one has wailed this role with quite the gusto that Lambert wails it, though many have tried. Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wailed
Verb
  • Steele complained to Apple about the manager twice, but the conduct did not change, according to the lawsuit.
    Reuters, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Small artists also complained about a 2024 change where Spotify stopped paying artists with fewer than 1,000 streams.
    Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The wind howled, rattling metal signs and tugging at our clothes as the dust swallowed everything in sight.
    Shaun McKinnon, AZCentral.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • From the other room, the victim moaned.
    Stephanie Kuzydym, The Courier-Journal, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Yankees fans have moaned and groaned about Aaron Boone’s deployment of Williams in crucial situations this season, and it’s only exacerbated now that every game counts in the postseason race.
    Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Zanni screamed as if sounding an alarm.
    Domenico Starnone, The Atlantic, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Mayra said her daughter, who was outside the facility at the time in case she got detained, screamed and ran for cover.
    Luke Barr, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Sections of the home crowd groaned, but this was what Emery wanted.
    Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The president also groaned about a bad teleprompter.
    Jon Haworth, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • At one point during the celebrations, Bronze sat on the pitch, put her hand over her mouth and sobbed.
    Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
  • As a flame passed candle to candle, some sobbed as the gathering remembered those who died and marked their loss.
    Matthew Cupelli, Cincinnati Enquirer, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Although full disclosure, those two words were muttered in the press box Sunday after Nix had thrown two unsightly picks through the first three quarters of the Broncos’ win over Tennessee.
    Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 7 Sep. 2025
  • There are few actors whose disembodied voices could carry long stretches of cinema, but Dafoe manages it, turning monologues about marionette mechanics or muttered complaints about hotel politics into something weirdly magnetic.
    Leila Latif, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Many bowed their heads, some cried softly.
    Jason Ma, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
  • In fact, the cast and crew were so moved by the filmmaking process that many cried along the way.
    Sarah Scott, Parents, 26 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Wailed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wailed. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.

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