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  1. wail love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To grieve or protest loudly and bitterly; lament. See Synonyms at cry.
  2. v. To make a prolonged, high-pitched sound suggestive of a cry: The wind wailed through the trees.
  3. v. Archaic To lament over; bewail.
  4. n. A long, loud, high-pitched cry, as of grief or pain.
  5. n. A long, loud, high-pitched sound: the wail of a siren.
  6. n. A loud, bitter protest: A wail of misery went up when new parking restrictions were announced.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. To express sorrow by a mournful inarticulate vocal sound; lament; moan; cry plaintively.
  2. To grieve over; lament; bemoan; bewail.
  3. n. The act of lamenting aloud; wailing; a moan; a plaintive cry or sound.
  4. See wale.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A prolonged cry, usually high-pitched, especially as of grief or anguish.
  2. n. Any similar sound as of lamentation; a howl.
  3. v. To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish.
  4. v. To weep, lament persistently or bitterly.
  5. v. To make a noise like mourning or crying.
  6. v. slang (music) To perform, express emotion in an exceptionally exciting way.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. v. obsolete To choose; to select.
  2. v. To lament; to bewail; to grieve over.
  3. v. To express sorrow audibly; to make mournful outcry; to weep.
  4. n. Loud weeping; violent lamentation; wailing.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a cry of sorrow and grief
  2. v. emit long loud cries
  3. v. cry weakly or softly

Etymologies

  1. Probably from Old Norse væla (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English wailen, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse vāla, vǣla. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “Allusions to Antiguan slave trading and the cultural and economic imperialism that have enriched the Bertram clan are made explicit in Patricia Rozema's 1999 film — largely in the opening and the closing credit sequence, which feature African singers in a kind of wail from the sea.”

    You Oughtta Be in Pictures

  • “Their every impulse, from their very first wail, is to dominate, and by dominating, compel us to become their servants in turn.”

    Rebel Angel | Her Bad Mother

  • “While it won't exactly match the classic high-pitched wail from the show, the producer says Gordon-Levitt will leave his own vocal stamp on Cobra Commander.”

    ‘G.I. Joe’ Movie Will Reveal ‘Twisted’ Cobra Commander; Mask And Menacing Voice Included » MTV Movies Blog

  • “Chalmers “wales” a psalm, in every sense of the word wail, to the most doleful of dismal tunes; they read a chapter round, and he prays.”

    A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains

  • “I can't quite describe the level of annoyance that the bald business guru brings to a room of gentle drinkers, trying to enjoy themselves while the rest of the populace is at work, but a sudden wail from a man in the far corner, similar to that of a small dog yanked forcefully by the tail, alerts everyone that something is terribly wrong.”

    Archive 2004-10-01

  • “To wail is to (1) express sorrow audibly (Lament); (2) to make a soundsuggestive of a mournful cry; (3) to express dissatisfaction plaintively: tocomplain.”

    Making a place in the church for a lamentation

  • “We were interrupted in our reflections by a wail from the Russian courier who found himself in a curious dilemma.”

    Six Red Months in Russia: An Observer's Account of Russia Before and During the Proletarian Dictatorship

  • “Her potatoes spilled over the deck, while a wail from the front of the boat announced that one of the babies had bumped, too.”

    The Belgian Twins

  • “She's run away, said Jeanie, afraid not to be believed – and then the commotion was increased by a wail from the mother, who sank in a state of collapse into her large chair, and by the rush of Marg'ret from the kitchen, who perceiving what had happened flew to give the necessary help.”

    Kirsteen: The Story of a Scotch Family Seventy Years Ago

  • “Chalmers "wales" a psalm, in every sense of the word wail, to the most doleful of dismal tunes; they read a chapter round, and he prays.”

    A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains

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synonyms (7)

Words with the same meaning

  1. choose
  1. select
  1. lament
  1. bewail
  1. weep
  1. wailing
  1. cry

hypernyms (3)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. complaint
  1. weep
  1. cry

same context (17)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. howl
  2. scream
  3. groan
  1. whine
  2. sob
  3. whisper
  1. whistle
  2. growl
  3. lamentation
  1. chorus
  2. hiss
  3. laugh
  1. agony
  2. bellow
  3. chant
  1. echo
  2. clang

rhymes (83)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. Bayle
  2. Braille
  3. Dail
  4. Dale
  5. Gael
  6. Gail
  7. Galle
  8. Gayle
  9. Hale
  10. Jarrell
  11. Male
  12. Mikhail
  13. Quayle
  14. Sale
  15. Yale
  16. ail
  1. ale
  2. assail
  3. avail
  4. bail
  5. baile
  6. bale
  7. braille
  8. cail
  9. cale
  10. calle
  11. carrell
  12. crail
  13. curtail
  14. dail
  15. dale
  16. derail
  1. detail
  2. email
  3. entail
  4. exhale
  5. fail
  6. faile
  7. flail
  8. frail
  9. gale
  10. grail
  11. hail
  12. hale
  13. impale
  14. inhale
  15. jail
  16. kail
  1. kale
  2. mail
  3. maile
  4. male
  5. nail
  6. nale
  7. pail
  8. pale
  9. prevail
  10. quail
  11. quale
  12. rafale
  13. rail
  14. rayle
  15. reil
  16. sail
  1. sale
  2. salle
  3. sayle
  4. scale
  5. shale
  6. smale
  7. snail
  8. stale
  9. surveil
  10. tail
  11. tale
  12. trail
  13. travail
  14. unveil
  15. vail
  16. vale
  1. veil
  2. wale
  3. whale

reverse dictionary (21)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. howl
  2. coved ceiling
  3. lament
  4. keen
  1. yammer
  2. bewail
  3. terrific
  4. shrill
  1. yowl
  2. ululate
  3. wailful
  4. bawl
  1. wail
  2. waiment
  3. waul
  4. wayment
  1. weyle
  2. plain
  3. cneoraceæ
  4. siphuncle
  1. weep

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‘wail’ has been looked up 4168 times, loved by 1 person, added to 23 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 7.