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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To express grief for or about; mourn: lament a death.
  2. v. To regret deeply; deplore: He lamented his thoughtless acts.
  3. v. To grieve audibly; wail.
  4. v. To express sorrow or regret. See Synonyms at grieve.
  5. n. A feeling or an expression of grief; a lamentation.
  6. n. A song or poem expressing deep grief or mourning.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. An expression of grief or sorrow; a sad complaint; a lamentation.
  2. n. A set form of lamentation or mourning; an elegy; a mourning song or ballad.
  3. n. The music for an elegy, or a tune intended to express or excite sorrowful emotion; a mournful air.
  4. To express sorrow; utter words or sounds of grief; mourn audibly; wail.
  5. To show great sorrow or regret; repine; chafe; grieve.
  6. Synonyms Lament, Mourn, Grieve; sorrow. Lament expresses always, at least figuratively, an external act. Mourn was originally and is still often the same, but does not now suggest anything audible. Grieve suggests more of a consuming effect upon the person sorrowing. See affliction.
  7. To bewail; mourn for; bemoan; deplore.
  8. To afflict; distress.

Wiktionary

  1. n. An expression of grief, suffering, or sadness.
  2. n. A song expressing grief.
  3. v. To express grief.
  4. v. To bewail.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. v. To express or feel sorrow; to weep or wail; to mourn.
  2. v. To mourn for; to bemoan; to bewail.
  3. n. Grief or sorrow expressed in complaints or cries; lamentation; a wailing; a moaning; a weeping.
  4. n. An elegy or mournful ballad, or the like.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a mournful poem; a lament for the dead
  2. n. a cry of sorrow and grief
  3. v. express grief verbally
  4. v. regret strongly
  5. n. a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person

Etymologies

  1. Middle English lementen, from Old French lamenter, from Latin lāmentārī, from lāmentum, lament.

Examples

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Lists

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Comments

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  • PossibleUnderscore I'm pretty sure Michael Flatley had a positively divine dance under this title. Jul 23, 2009

‘lament’ has been looked up 5773 times, loved by 9 people, added to 68 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 8.