as in sadly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
the lost child wailfully kept asking for his mother
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wailfully
Adverb
-
The Super Bowl, sadly, was a snoozer.—
Brendan Marks,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026 -
One man sadly watched the commemoration from a sidewalk in Tehran, not taking part.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
The ultra-chic crewneck sweater has a slightly oversized fit that’s perfect for cozying up on a long-haul flight and or layering with a turtleneck on bitterly cold winter days.—
Melony Forcier,
Travel + Leisure,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Not bitterly, not hysterically—openly, with the sound of someone arriving at a recognition both painful and clarifying.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
17 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
But Wemby got his painfully cool peers to play along, to pick up the tempo – and their defense, often at half court.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
16 Feb. 2026
-
My path has crossed languages and cultures, continents and genres, sometimes gracefully, sometimes a little painfully, but always guided by curiosity and deep faith in cinema.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
For their part, Democratic leaders spoke mournfully of limits, of energy shortages, of national decline, of a crisis of confidence itself.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Based on the Dylan Thomas prose poem of the same name, published in 1952, the film lovingly and mournfully depicts the boyhood Christmastime of an old Welshman, tenderly and a tad mischievously embodied by Elliott.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
What has been hardest is seeing ordinary lives, families, young people, civilians slowly reduced to headlines or abstractions, rather than recognized as individuals living under immense and sustained pressure.—
Emily Chan,
Vogue,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Essentially, what seem like small tweaks have noticeable impacts on control when pushing the ski hard.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
14 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Wailfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wailfully. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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