wailed; wailing; wails
1
: to express sorrow audibly : lament
2
: to make a sound suggestive of a mournful cry
3
: to express dissatisfaction plaintively : complain
1
: to say or express plaintively
wailed that her cake was ruined
2
archaic
: bewail
Examples of wail in a Sentence
Verb
The child started wailing after she stumbled and fell.
A saxophone wailed in the background.
“No! I don't want to go!” he wailed.
She wailed that the vacation was ruined.
Noun
the wail of a siren
a prolonged wail arose from every corner of the city as the victims of the earthquake were unearthed from the rubble
Recent Examples on the Web
Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 6 Feb. 2025
Gibson didn’t really know Ainscough and showed up to Ainscough’s funeral uninvited and made a scene with over-the-top crying and wailing, per Women’s Weekly.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 6 Feb. 2025
Guy Lodge, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025
Peart also became the band’s primary lyricist, and Lee delivering Peart’s dense and philosophical lyrics with a high, piercing wail became a defining characteristic of Rush’s sound.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wail
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Verb
The journalists wrote in their book that Gibson showed up to Ainscough’s funeral uninvited and made a scene with over-the-top crying and wailing, per Women's Weekly.
—Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 6 Feb. 2025
Gibson didn’t really know Ainscough and showed up to Ainscough’s funeral uninvited and made a scene with over-the-top crying and wailing, per Women’s Weekly.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 6 Feb. 2025
Noun
Those harsh, swelling wails of warning become the film’s punctuating sonic motif — in stark contrast to the buoyant, babbling vocal interjections of Alexey Shmurak’s unexpected a cappella score, a literal chorus of humanity amid the chaos.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025
Peart also became the band’s primary lyricist, and Lee delivering Peart’s dense and philosophical lyrics with a high, piercing wail became a defining characteristic of Rush’s sound.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wail
Articles Related to wail
Cite this Entry
“Wail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wail. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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