as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
the puppy's plaintive expression after we put the toy away was rather amusing
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples of plaintive in a Sentence
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Recent Examples on the Web
The plaintive piano notes that open Ambient 1: Music for Airports are the first sounds many encountered in connection with ambient music, and the album that gave the genre its name is still widely cited as its greatest.
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Daniel Bromfield, SPIN, 16 July 2024
Miller’s Taya is plaintive, searching, but also resolute, willing to face the reality that life with a perpetual ghost is no life at all.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 28 June 2024
There, Kahan, a 27-year-old Vermont folk singer who’s captured TikTok’s Gen Z romantics, got nearly every one of his plaintive lyrics absolutely howled back at him.
—August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2024
The kind of plaintive breakup song Swift could write in her sleep at this point in her career, with standout guitar work and impressive vulnerability in both lyrics and performance.
96.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 20 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for plaintive 
Daniel Bromfield, SPIN, 16 July 2024
Miller’s Taya is plaintive, searching, but also resolute, willing to face the reality that life with a perpetual ghost is no life at all.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 28 June 2024
There, Kahan, a 27-year-old Vermont folk singer who’s captured TikTok’s Gen Z romantics, got nearly every one of his plaintive lyrics absolutely howled back at him.
—August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2024
The kind of plaintive breakup song Swift could write in her sleep at this point in her career, with standout guitar work and impressive vulnerability in both lyrics and performance.
96.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 20 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for plaintive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaintive
Adjective
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Soon a mournful blue light would rise over the islands in the sea.Greg Jackson, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2024
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Of all on this list, perhaps this is the most mournful.Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 16 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.David Mamet, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
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The funeral banner features a typical mix of Lebanese faces, making up three generations of a Shiite Muslim family that lived for decades in this predominantly Christian area north of Beirut.Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Oct. 2024
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On Wednesday, walkie-talkies exploded, some during funeral processions being held for militants killed in Tuesday's explosions.David Brennan, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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His small act of kindness resonated deeply in a heartbroken community striving to rebuild and find its way forward.Alaa Elassar, CNN, 26 Oct. 2024
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Peyton Elizabeth Lee plays a heartbroken teen playwright attending a small town's seasonal fall festival when she and others are attacked by a very angry orange squash.Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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On the eve of the election, amid a bitter chill, Marisela Olvera, a member of the Culinary Workers Union, rapped on doors in North Las Vegas to make her pitch.Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
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In a bitter twist of fate, Trump made these remarks about Xi on the day that Liu Xiaobo died.Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 5 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near plaintive
Cite this Entry
“Plaintive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintive. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.
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