Adjacent Words

Wail definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

WAIL, v.t. To lament; to moan; to bewail.
Or if no more her absent lord she wails--
WAIL, v.i. To weep; to express sorrow audibly.
Therefore I will wail and howl. Micah 1.
WAIL, n. Loud weeping; violent lamentation.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a cry of sorrow and grief; "their pitiful laments could be heard throughout the ward" [syn: lament, lamentation, plaint, wail] v
1: emit long loud cries; "wail in self-pity"; "howl with sorrow" [syn: howl, ululate, wail, roar, yawl, yaup]
2: cry weakly or softly; "she wailed with pain" [syn: wail, whimper, mewl, pule]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English weilen, waylen, perhaps modification (influenced by Middle English weilawei wellaway) of Old Norse vζla, v?la to wail; akin to Old Norse vei woe — more at woe Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1. to express sorrow audibly ; lament 2. to make a sound suggestive of a mournful cry 3. to express dissatisfaction plaintively ; complain transitive verb archaic 1. bewail 2. to say or express plaintively <wailed that her cake was ruined> • wailer noun II. noun Date: 15th century 1. the act or practice of wailing ; loud lamentation 2. a. a usually prolonged cry or sound expressing grief or pain b. a sound suggestive of wailing <the wail of an air-raid siren> c. a querulous expression of grievance ; complaint

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a prolonged plaintive inarticulate loud high-pitched cry of pain, grief, etc. 2 a sound like or suggestive of this. --v. 1 intr. utter a wail. 2 intr. lament or complain persistently or bitterly. 3 intr. (of the wind etc.) make a sound like a person wailing. 4 tr. poet. or rhet. bewail; wail over. Phrases and idioms: Wailing Wall a high wall in Jerusalem said to stand on the site of Herod's temple, where Jews traditionally pray and lament on Fridays. Derivatives: wailer n. wailful adj. poet. wailingly adv. Etymology: ME f. ON, rel. to WOE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wail Wail, v. t. [Cf. Icel. val choice, velja to choose, akin to Goth. waljan, G. w["a]hlen.] To choose; to select. [Obs.] ``Wailed wine and meats.'' --Henryson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wail Wail, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wailed; p. pr. & vb. n. Wailing.] [OE. wailen, weilen, probably fr. Icel. v[ae]la; cf. Icel. v[ae], vei, woe, and E. wayment, also OE. wai, wei, woe. Cf. Woe.] To lament; to bewail; to grieve over; as, to wail one's death. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wail Wail, v. i. To express sorrow audibly; to make mournful outcry; to weep. Therefore I will wail and howl. --Micah i. 8.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wail Wail, n. Loud weeping; violent lamentation; wailing. ``The wail of the forest.'' --Longfellow.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(wails, wailing, wailed) 1. If someone wails, they make long, loud, high-pitched cries which express sorrow or pain. The women began to wail in mourning. ...a mother wailing for her lost child. VERB: V, V for n • Wail is also a noun. Wails of grief were heard as visitors filed past the site of the disaster. N-COUNT: oft N of n 2. If you wail something, you say it in a loud, high-pitched voice that shows that you are unhappy or in pain. 'Now look what you've done!' Shirley wailed... Primrose, stupefied by tiredness, began to wail that she was hungry. VERB: V with quote, V that, also V about n 3. If something such as a siren or an alarm wails, it makes a long, loud, high-pitched sound. Police cars, their sirens wailing, accompanied the lorries... VERB: V • Wail is also a noun. The wail of the bagpipe could be heard in the distance. N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n • wailing Our artillery opened up and we heard a fearful wailing and screeching.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Lament, moan, bemoan, bewail, deplore, mourn over, grieve for (audibly). II. v. n. Moan, lament, cry, weep. III. n. Moan, lamentation, complaint, plaint, lament, wailing, cry, loud weeping.

Moby Thesaurus

bark, bawl, bay, bell, bellow, blare, blat, blate, bleat, blubber, boohoo, boom, bray, breathe, buzz, cackle, call, caterwaul, chant, chirp, coo, creak, crow, cry, cry out, dolorous tirade, drawl, exclaim, flute, fuss, gasp, give tongue, give voice, groan, growl, grunt, hiss, howl, jeremiad, keen, kick, lament, lilt, low, make an outcry, meow, mew, mewl, miaow, moan, moo, mumble, murmur, mutter, neigh, nicker, outcry, pant, pipe, plaint, planctus, pule, quest, repine, roar, rumble, screak, scream, screech, shriek, shrill, sibilate, sigh, sing, skirl, skreigh, snap, snarl, snort, sob, sough, squall, squawk, squeak, squeal, thunder, tirade, troat, trumpet, twang, ululate, ululation, wail of woe, warble, weep, whicker, whimper, whine, whinny, whisper, whistle, wrawl, yammer, yap, yawl, yawp, yell, yelp, yip, yowl