Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To cry or sob loudly; wail.
- v. To cry out loudly and vehemently; shout.
- v. To utter in a loud, vehement voice. See Synonyms at shout.
- n. A loud, bellowing cry; a wail.
- bawl out Informal To reprimand loudly or harshly.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To bark or howl, as a dog.
- To cry out with a loud full sound; make vehement or clamorous outcries, as in pain, exultation, etc.; shout.
- To utter or proclaim by outcry; shout out.
- To cry for sale, as a hawker.
- n. A shout at the top of one's voice; an outcry: as, the children set up a loud bawl.
- n. Obsolete spelling of ball.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in calling or exultation; to shout; to vociferate.
- v. To cry loudly, as a child from pain or vexation.
- v. To proclaim with a loud voice, or by outcry, as a hawker or town-crier does.
- n. A loud, prolonged cry; an outcry.
WordNet 3.0
- v. shout loudly and without restraint
- v. make a raucous noise
- v. cry loudly
Etymologies
- Middle English bawlen, to bark, from Medieval Latin baulāre, to bark (probably of Scandinavian origin) or from Old Norse baula, to low (of imitative origin).
Examples
“*tayks anottur bawl frum teh rakk: a yellow furst-troll bawl*”
They always seemed to know - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?
“The anguish of Patsy's thoughts caused him suddenly to "bawl" as he would have put it himself.”
“It was a good thing he had stopped to "bawl," else maybe he'd have missed the goat who had been having her fill of Mrs. McEnroe's after-grass.”
“I could never pull off a full on pretend bawl, but I've got these two dimwits in the palm of my hand now and just a hint will close the deal.”
“Good Omens made me laugh AND bawl like a baby … so, yeah.”
“Then they go out into the living room and they watch the news and they try not to bawl their eyes out because monsters do exist.”
“Fact: The midseason finale of Grey's Anatomy will make you bawl your eyes out.”
“It was his responsibility to bawl out Tim for doing something so dangerous, but Grady was leaving it all to Alex.”
“There was instant silence from the dog, although Tony continued his whining bawl in her ear.”
“I thought, "Just turn your back and walk away kid, unless you want to see your mom bawl like a baby.”
The Huffington Post: Jennifer Cullen: Can I Go to High School With My Kid?
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘bawl’.
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Of Imitative Origin
Words formed in imitation of the sound of the things they signify.
bawl, biff, blizzard, blob, blooper, bob, boff, bomb, bonkers, boo, borborygmus, brouhaha and 148 more...
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Onomatopoetic
words (seemingly) formed in imitation of a natural sound
plash, guff, woof, splash, crash, pow, crack, bang, whoosh, whizz, whallop, fizz and 116 more...
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sound (loud)
words for loud sounds
( descriptive, randomness )crash, thud, bump, thump, boom, smash, explode, roar, scream, screech, short, yell and 167 more...
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curmudgy's list
davenport, conquistador, moonblind, unfurl, tortilla, flotsam and jetsum, flash harry, coquet, endomorphism, effluvient, fivers, bawl and 5 more...

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