wailing 1 of 2

wailing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of wail
1
2
as in howling
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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wailing
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
Verb
  • More than 28,000 customers were without power Wednesday morning as howling winds from a powerful winter storm blew through the Kansas City metro area, utilities reported.
    Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2025
  • Snow, howling winds expected to have highest impact The weather service said that a cold front would come crashing through the area Tuesday night, and dangerous northwest winds would build behind the front.
    Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The slow, mournful piano chords capture the somber bite of the scene with remarkable punch yet also a sobering stillness, and that’s before the elegiac words carry the song off into the sky.
    Daniel Dylan Wray, Pitchfork, 8 May 2025
  • Wynette’s mournful lyrics about a partner who has left—will one protagonist leave the other during the game’s main campaign?—to the sound of lonely, sad acoustic country music is the flip side of Wang Chung’s carefree spirit.
    Brady Gerber, Vulture, 7 May 2025
Verb
  • The irony of the quintessential real estate expert buying a home in the flight path of an international airport, then complaining about the noise, is not lost on the rest of Palm Beach County.
    Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
  • That first-round pick became Merriman (although, the Giants aren't complaining).
    Ryan Morik, Fox News, 8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • For me, even in funeral masses of family and friends, that's the most powerful moment.
    ABC News, ABC News, 27 Apr. 2025
  • Mourners pay respects to Pope Francis ahead of funeral Mourners from around the world pay their respects to Pope Francis at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
    Eryk Michael Smith, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The whining about everyone else didn’t help, either.
    Brian Moylan, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Stop whining and thank your lucky stars for having a job.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Stacy Melo, an east Arlington resident, told the City Council that she was left heartbroken and shocked the last time TotalEnergies came before council.
    Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 May 2025
  • After everyone left, her husband apologized for his mother’s absence and thanked her for her hard work, but the experience left her heartbroken.
    Ashley Vega, People.com, 8 May 2025
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

Cite this Entry

“Wailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wailing. Accessed 24 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on wailing

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!