whining 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of whiningnext
1
as in complaining

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2
as in whiny

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whining

2 of 3

noun

as in crying

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whining

3 of 3

verb

present participle of whine
as in screaming
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely for the whole of our vacation, the kids whined on and on about the weather

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 whining
Noun
This is why all the whining and complaining from small market teams across the sport is manipulative nonsense. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 Apr. 2026 Tail wagging, happy whining, and excited greetings when your husband comes home tell me Eddie likes him. — Cathy M. Rosenthal, San Antonio Express-News, 26 Feb. 2026
Verb
Quit whining about the stupid catch, quit whining about Jazz stealing third, and maybe start talking about how the Red Sox were a complete no-show all weekend long. — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2026 The state compared Atrium to a soccer team whining about the referees. — Bob Herman, STAT, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for whining
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whining
  1. complaining
  2. whiny
  3. crying
  4. screaming
  5. protesting
  6. weeping
  7. moaning
  8. whimpering
Adjective
  • An energy vampire has bad body language, the complaining look on their face, the vocal complainer.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2026
Definition of complaining
Adjective
  • Night Country‘s Kali Reis as a traditional Resident Evil commando type, there goes I, Tonya‘s Paul Walter Hauser as a whiny, weaselly corporate executive — and others who simply start sprouting tentacles out of their faces.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026
  • And before the perpetually whiny and moronic peanut gallery says that sports teams have special nights all the time, that’s true, but celebrating heritage, or veterans who fought and died for this country is just an eency weency bit different than force-feeding the gay agenda at a ball game!
    — Tomi Lahren OutKick, FOXNews.com, 17 June 2026
Definition of whiny
Noun
  • Elementary school students may have tantrums, be clingy, have toileting accidents, engage in uncontrollable crying or become less talkative as a result of changes in schools, homes and caregivers.
    — Nikki R Wooten, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Heart attacks and strokes occur disproportionately following rejections, and rejected individuals often show symptoms that are typically associated with drug withdrawal, including anxiety, depression, crying, loss of appetite, and irritability.
    — George Loewenstein, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of crying
Verb
  • Research on hitting objects does not support it as a way to reduce anger, and there are too few studies of screaming to conclude its effects.
    — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Onstage, Slayyyter, whose real name is Catherine Grace Garner, is a force, constantly moving around the stage, thrashing her head along to the music and screaming the lyrics to her songs.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of screaming
Adjective
  • The death toll includes at least 19 children, 21 non-protesting civilians, and 165 in government or security forces.
    — The Hill, The Hill, 17 Jan. 2026
  • Among the dead were 13 children and 14 non-protesting civilians, HRANA said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Jan. 2026
Definition of protesting
Noun
  • Body camera footage showed Flynn weeping, covering his face, and rocking back and forth as police searched his home.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
  • When the curtain went up, Valencia spent the first several minutes overcome by emotion, glassy-eyed and weeping.
    — Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of weeping
Verb
  • For a cold moment the silence locked a grip on our table, though it was broken, at the edges, by the golf commentators moaning and harrumphing, Rory McIlroy having had a canary on a seventeenth fairway somewhere this championship Sunday.
    — Kevin Barry, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026
  • By the time Fowler gave up trying to put one in Carruthers, DiLiberato could hear her client moaning and see blood oozing out of his puncture wounds.
    — Keri Blakinger, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of moaning
Noun
  • The filing also alleges Pike suggested where staff should try inserting the IV, one needle was bent at a 90-degree angle when it was removed, and she could be heard crying, whimpering and breathing loudly throughout the procedure.
    — Greg Wehner , Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Scarface doesn’t just bark orders at his underlings but browbeats the whimpering Ventriloquist, giving him that warped double personality that made older characters like Two-Face so alluring.
    — Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of whimpering

Browse Nearby Words

whinging
whining
whinings
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Cite this Entry

“Whining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whining. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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