View synonyms for

wailing

[ wey-ling ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

uttering a prolonged, inarticulate, mournful cry, usually high-pitched or clear-sounding, as in grief or suffering:
In the village we passed a funeral procession, the wailing widow following behind the body of her husband.
making a mournful sound, as a siren, music, the wind, etc.:
A wailing police siren nears, passes, and fades.
complaining, protesting, whining, or crying:
He rubbed the bare foot of the wailing toddler and planted a kiss on it.
They’re always trying to correct the market, usually in the interests of some wailing pressure group.
Slang. expressing emotion musically or verbally in an exciting, satisfying way:
The song celebrates with a Cajun-flavored stomp accompanied by a wailing fiddle and screaming electric guitar.

noun

a mournful cry or sound, or the act of making such a sound:
The wailing of the mourners rose and fell, merging with the drums and the shaman’s chants.
an act or instance of complaining, protesting, etc.:
“All art is propaganda, despite the wailing of purists,” she sneered.
Slang. the act of expressing emotion musically or verbally in an exciting, satisfying way:
At this live show from 1974, the soulful wailing of the chorus in the background is utterly spine-tingling.

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Other Word Forms

�ɲ��·��Բ�·�� adverb
�ܲ�·�ɲ��·��Բ� adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of wailing¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; wail ( def ) + -ing ²( def ) for the adjective senses; wail ( def ) + -ing ¹( def ) for the noun senses

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But the lasting impact of the blow that kills him, witnessed by a wailing Ellie, is its own dizzying stab of awareness.

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"Cars are passing by and all the shops are open. No shells are falling from anywhere. We are not panicking. We can't hear any sirens wailing. We do not run to any evacuation points."

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He could hear rescuers sifting through the debris - and residents wailing as they discovered loved ones dead.

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The commercial ends with Jackson doing his own wailing on guitar, only to have the real guitar legend tell him jokingly, “Bo, you don’t know Diddley.”

From

Some of those I spoke to were crying, others wailing, at what they feared was about to unfold.

From

Related Words

wailful Wailing Wall

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