whiny

adjective

ˈ(h)wī-nē 

variants or less commonly whiney

whinier; whiniest

: characterized by whining:

a

: having a high-pitched, shrill or plaintive quality

a whiny voice

"So What'cha Want," despite its jittery organ, whiny guitar, and distorted vocals, turned out to be one of the least predictable-sounding hit singles of recent years.

—Alan Light

b

: characterized by or given to complaining

whiny children

Their whiny, even beggarly tone was hardly the supremely confident sound of the American Century.

—Sidney Blumenthal

… offering little more than a whiny list of grievances …

—Linda Chavez

In this conversational memoir, Nancy comes across as honest, if a little whiny, and a major-league worrier.

—Ilene Cooper

whininess noun

A few years ago, thirtysomething was widely reviled for encouraging the yuppie ethos of materialism and whininess.

—Mark Harris

… I heard something, a certain whininess in his voice, maybe, that led me to conclude that I wasn't about to get a pasting …

—Nick Hornby

Examples of whiny in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Some students concede this can sound whiny, and that they can be pushy. —Gary Robbins, The Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2024

The long-term teacher can’t pretend to care about his whiny students anymore and uses a seemingly routine parent’s complaint as an excuse to get canned. —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 11 Oct. 2024

In defense of whiny Joey King, that does seem like a lot. —Emma Specter, Vogue, 12 Aug. 2024

Of course, the girls are extra whiny and L. ends up needing her diaper changed at 12:58 p.m. —R29 Team, refinery29.com, 29 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined above