Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To make a long, loud, high-pitched cry, as in grief, sorrow, or fear. synonym: cry.
- intransitive verb To make a prolonged, high-pitched sound suggestive of a cry.
- intransitive verb To lament over; bewail.
- noun A long, loud, high-pitched cry, as of grief or pain.
- noun A long, loud, high-pitched sound.
- noun A loud, bitter protest.
from The Century Dictionary.
- See
wale . - To express sorrow by a mournful inarticulate vocal sound; lament; moan; cry plaintively.
- To grieve over; lament; bemoan; bewail.
- noun The act of lamenting aloud; wailing; a moan; a plaintive cry or sound.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Loud weeping; violent lamentation; wailing.
- transitive verb obsolete To choose; to select.
- transitive verb To lament; to bewail; to grieve over.
- intransitive verb To express sorrow audibly; to make mournful outcry; to weep.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A prolonged
cry , usually high-pitched, especially as ofgrief oranguish . - noun Any similar sound as of
lamentation ; ahowl . - verb To
cry out, as insorrow oranguish . - verb To
weep ,lament persistently or bitterly. - verb To make a noise like
mourning or crying. - verb slang (
music ) To perform, express emotion in an exceptionally exciting way.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a cry of sorrow and grief
- verb emit long loud cries
- verb cry weakly or softly
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Their every impulse, from their very first wail, is to dominate, and by dominating, compel us to become their servants in turn.
-
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.
-
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.
-
To wail is to (1) express sorrow audibly (Lament); (2) to make a soundsuggestive of a mournful cry; (3) to express dissatisfaction plaintively: tocomplain.
-
We were interrupted in our reflections by a wail from the Russian courier who found himself in a curious dilemma.
-
Her potatoes spilled over the deck, while a wail from the front of the boat announced that one of the babies had bumped, too.
-
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.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.