Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- intransitive v. To grieve or protest loudly and bitterly; lament. See Synonyms at cry.
- intransitive v. To make a prolonged, high-pitched sound suggestive of a cry: The wind wailed through the trees.
- transitive v. Archaic To lament over; bewail.
- n. A long, loud, high-pitched cry, as of grief or pain.
- n. A long, loud, high-pitched sound: the wail of a siren.
- n. A loud, bitter protest: A wail of misery went up when new parking restrictions were announced.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. A prolonged cry, usually high-pitched, especially as of grief or anguish.
- n. Any similar sound as of lamentation; a howl.
- v. To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish.
- v. To weep, lament persistently or bitterly.
- v. To make a noise like mourning or crying.
- v. (music) To perform, express emotion in an exceptionally exciting way.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- transitive v. To choose; to select.
- transitive v. To lament; to bewail; to grieve over.
- intransitive v. To express sorrow audibly; to make mournful outcry; to weep.
- n. Loud weeping; violent lamentation; wailing.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To express sorrow by a mournful inarticulate vocal sound; lament; moan; cry plaintively.
- To grieve over; lament; bemoan; bewail.
- n. The act of lamenting aloud; wailing; a moan; a plaintive cry or sound.
- See wale.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. a cry of sorrow and grief
- v. emit long loud cries
- v. cry weakly or softly
Etymologies
Examples
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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.
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Their every impulse, from their very first wail, is to dominate, and by dominating, compel us to become their servants in turn.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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To wail is to (1) express sorrow audibly (Lament); (2) to make a soundsuggestive of a mournful cry; (3) to express dissatisfaction plaintively: tocomplain.
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We were interrupted in our reflections by a wail from the Russian courier who found himself in a curious dilemma.
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Her potatoes spilled over the deck, while a wail from the front of the boat announced that one of the babies had bumped, too.
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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.
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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.
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