View synonyms for

bawling

[ baw-ling ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

crying or wailing lustily:
On one of our trips we were kept awake most of the night by a bawling kid—and that kid was you!
The mooing, bawling calf seemed to be an orphan.
shouting loudly, especially to be heard outdoors, over other noise, or by a large group:
He’s doing his basic training under a bawling drill sergeant who screams orders at the recruits.

noun

the act of crying, wailing, or shouting:
After recess I have to put up with the bawling of kids at each other across the classroom, still arguing about playtime disputes.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bawling¹

First recorded in 1570–80; bawl ( def ) + -ing ²( def ) for the adjective senses; bawl ( def ) + -ing ¹( def ) for the noun sense

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

I was mourning that I didn’t take my daughter’s pictures she painted for me and I was just bawling because clothes, shoes, dishes, they’re all replaceable, but this stuff will never be replaced.

From

He tells me an anecdote about a young woman who said she started bawling when Sean Dino Johnson — one of the real former inmates — rolls around on the floor playing with a sword.

From

I would just start bawling on the table.

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"Then I stood in her kitchen with the shock and the terror of seeing my house burn. I was bawling my eyes out."

From

“When we saw each other, we both started bawling. Back then, we hadn’t seen each other for years, so it was such a touching moment for us.”

From

bawl bawl out

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