Adjacent Words

Groan definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GROAN, v.i. [L. grunnio; Heb. to cry out, to groan; L. rana, a frog.]
1. To breathe with a deep murmuring sound; to utter a mournful voice, as in pain or sorrow.
For we that are in this tabernacle, do groan, being burdened. 2 Corinthians 5.
2. To sigh; to be oppressed or afflicted; or to complain of oppression. A nation groans under the weight of taxes.
GROAN, n. A deep mournful sound, uttered in pain, sorrow or anguish.
1. Any low, rumbling sound; as the groans of roaring wind.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an utterance expressing pain or disapproval [syn: groan, moan] v
1: indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure; "The students groaned when the professor got out the exam booklets"; "The ancient door soughed when opened" [syn: groan, moan]

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Middle English gronen, from Old English gr?nian; akin to Old High German gr?nan to growl Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. to utter a deep moan indicative of pain, grief, or annoyance 2. to make a harsh sound (as of creaking) under sudden or prolonged strain transitive verb to utter or express with groaning • groan noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 a intr. make a deep sound expressing pain, grief, or disapproval. b tr. utter with groans. 2 intr. complain inarticulately. 3 intr. (usu. foll. by under, beneath, with) be loaded or oppressed. --n. the sound made in groaning. Phrases and idioms: groan inwardly be distressed. Derivatives: groaner n. groaningly adv. Etymology: OE granian f. Gmc, rel. to GRIN

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Groan Groan, v. t. To affect by groans.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Groan Groan, n. A low, moaning sound; usually, a deep, mournful sound uttered in pain or great distress; sometimes, an expression of strong disapprobation; as, the remark was received with groans. Such groans of roaring wind and rain. --Shak. The wretched animal heaved forth such groans. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Groan Groan, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Groaned; p. pr. & vb. n. Groaning.] [OE. gronen, granen, granien, AS. gr?nian, fr. the root of grennian to grin. [root]35. See 2d Grin, and cf. Grunt.] 1. To give forth a low, moaning sound in breathing; to utter a groan, as in pain, in sorrow, or in derision; to moan. For we . . . do groan, being burdened. --2 Cor. v. 4. He heard the groaning of the oak. --Sir W. Scott. 2. To strive after earnestly, as with groans. Nothing but holy, pure, and clear, Or that which groaneth to be so. --Herbert.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(groans, groaning, groaned) 1. If you groan, you make a long, low sound because you are in pain, or because you are upset or unhappy about something. Slowly, he opened his eyes. As he did so, he began to groan with pain... They glanced at the man on the floor, who began to groan... She was making small groaning noises. = moan VERB: V with n, V, V-ing • Groan is also a noun. She heard him let out a pitiful, muffled groan... As his ball flew wide, there was a collective groan from the stands. = moan N-COUNT 2. If you groan something, you say it in a low, unhappy voice. 'My leg–I think it's broken,' Eric groaned. VERB: V with quote 3. If you groan about something, you complain about it. His parents were beginning to groan about the price of college tuition. VERB: V about n • Groan is also a noun. Listen sympathetically to your child's moans and groans about what she can't do. N-COUNT 4. If wood or something made of wood groans, it makes a loud sound when it moves. The timbers groan and creak and the floorboards shift. VERB: V 5. If you say that something such as a table groans under the weight of food, you are emphasizing that there is a lot of food on it. The bar counter groans under the weight of huge plates of the freshest fish. ...a table groaning with food. VERB: V under/with n, V-ing [emphasis] 6. If you say that someone or something is groaning under the weight of something, you think there is too much of that thing. Consumers were groaning under the weight of high interest rates... VERB: usu cont, V under n [disapproval]

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

gron (na'aq, 'anaq; stenazo, embrimaomai): The English word, noun and verb, is an attempt to imitate the vocal sound which is expressive of severe pain or distress, physical or mental. It is cognate with the Scottish dialect word girn, and with grin in its original obsolete sense, as used in the Anglican Prayer-book version of Ps 59:6,14, "grin like a dog and go about the city"; here "grin" is a translation of hamah, and means the sound of the nightly howling of the pariah dogs in Jerusalem and other oriental cities. It is used in the Old Testament:

(1) To denote the expression accompanying physical suffering, as in the case of the Israelites in Egypt oppressed by Pharaoh's taskmasters (Ex 2:24; 6:5), or in Palestine under the yoke of the Canaanites (Jud 2:18, neqaqah). It is also used in Job's description of the sufferings and wretchedness of the poor (Job 24:12) as well as in his complaint concerning his own suffering when smitten by the hand of God (Job 23:2). The Psalmist speaks of groaning when fever-stricken and remorseful, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "roaring all the day long" (Ps 32:3; 38:9; 102:5; 22:1).

(2) The expression of suffering on the part of beasts, hungry and thirsty in drought (Joe 1:18).

(3) The manifestation of mental and spiritual distress as in Ps 6:6; 102:20 (the Revised Version (British and American) "sighing").

(4) Metaphorically groaning is the despairing note of Egypt in the prophecy of her overthrow by Babylon, the sound being that uttered by a deadly wounded man (Eze 30:24; similarly in the prophecy of the Persian conquest the misery of Babylon is thus represented by Jer 51:52); and the misery of Tyre when taken by Babylon is similarly described (Eze 26:15, the King James Version "cry").

The word for "sigh" ('anachah) is closely allied, and the meanings are sufficiently akin, so that the terms seem interchangeable. A sigh is physically a sign of respiratory distress due to depressed action of the heart; sighing is consequently the indication of physical weakness or mental disquietude, as Ps 12:5; 31:10; 79:11; Isa 21:2; 24:7; 35:10; Jer 45:3.

Na'aq is the crying of persons dying or starving, as in Eze 30:24; Job 24:12. A somewhat similar word, haghah, means the complaining sound like that of the cooing of doves (Isa 59:11; Na 2:7). Nehi is the sound of lamentation of the dead (Jer 9:10; 31:15; Am 5:16).

In the New Testament "groaning" is used for the expression of mental distress. In Joh 11:33,15 the word used is part of the verb embrimaomai, which conveys the idea of deep and earnest emotion. The same word in two other passages is translated "strictly charged," and indicates the emphasis of the charge (Mt 9:30; Mr 1:43). Elsewhere "sighing" and "groaning" are renderings of words derived from the verb stenazo, as in Ro 8:23; 2Co 5:2,4; Mr 7:34; 8:12. Stephen calls the groaning of Israel in Egypt stenagmos (Ac 7:34), and the united wail of the travailing creation is expressed by Paul by the word sunstenazei (Ro 8:22). The sigh is a characteristic sign of woe in Isa 21:2; 24:7; Jer 45:3; La 14,8,11,12; Eze 9:4; 21:6 f.

Alexander Macalister

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. Moan.

Moby Thesaurus

air a grievance, bawl, beef, beefing, belch, bellyache, bellyaching, bitch, bitching, blare, blat, bray, burr, buzz, cackle, caw, chirr, clamor, clang, clangor, clank, clash, complain, complaining, complaint, crab, craunch, croak, crump, crunch, cry, cry out, destructive criticism, dissent, dolorous tirade, faultfinding, fret, fret and fume, fuss, grievance, grind, gripe, griping, groaning, grouch, grouse, grousing, growl, grumble, grumbling, grunt, holler, howl, jangle, jar, jeremiad, keen, kick, kicking, lament, lodge a complaint, make an outcry, moan, murmur, murmuring, mutter, muttering, object, outcry, peeve, peevishness, pet peeve, petulance, pipe, plaint, planctus, protest, querulousness, raise a howl, rasp, register a complaint, roar, scolding, scranch, scrape, scratch, scream, screech, scrunch, shriek, sigh, sing, snarl, sniping, snore, sob, sough, squall, squawk, squawking, take on, tirade, twang, ululate, ululation, wail, wail of woe, whimper, whine, whining, whisper, whistle, yammer, yammering, yap, yapping, yawl, yawp, yell, yelp, yowl