1
as in sobbing
to shed tears often while making meaningless sounds as a sign of pain or distress
he bawled for days after his dog died
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in shouting
to speak so as to be heard at a distance
the mover was bawling for help as the refrigerator was about to slip out of his hands
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in crying
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bawling
Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
For sure, John would be bawling.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Viewers immediately started bawling at the thought.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
For sure, John would be bawling.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bawling
Verb
-
The 8-year-old ia unable to sleep without crying throughout the night and uncontrollably in his sleep, his mother wrote.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Sep. 2025
-
This wakes my kids who start crying.—
Esther K. Choy,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Kuching, the capital of Sarawak on the island of Borneo, isn't shouting about its commitment to sustainability.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Then, Suarez moved to another part of the field, where he is seen shouting, stepping on the foot of Sounders head of security Gene Ramirez and spitting on him.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The camera cuts between Dennis, who’s sobbing, and Roman, who’s horrified, processing Dennis’ betrayal.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Multiple videos show kids sobbing over losing their brain rot character.—
Annabelle Canela,
Parents,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
As the Astros celebrated, and as music blared and fireworks went off, Chisholm got close to Walsh, yelling and gesturing with his hands.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Ellis then claimed that Cardi cut her face with a fingernail and spat on her while yelling profanity and racial slurs at Ellis.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
One, there's not a lot of moisture weeping out onto your pie crust.—
Bon Appétit,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
4 Sep. 2025
-
In June 2024, police released a video showing Quintana-Lujan weeping into his phone moments after the crash.—
Miguel Torres,
AZCentral.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
A couple climbed through a sunroof to rescue a 22-month-old screaming child left alone in a hot car, Massachusetts police said.—
Paloma Chavez,
Miami Herald,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Kristen raced to the school and found a cop waiting for her as well as firetrucks and an ambulance, where her son was inside screaming.—
Wendy Grossman Kantor,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Even Seth Rogen, a surprise guest, was cheering and hollering while holding a camera throughout the ovation and snapping photos the entire time.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Sep. 2025
-
Dylan brought it out wide on the freeway ramp, the tires soft, and bald, and skidding on the powdered gravel, and Bob took to hollering with his head hung out the window like a big dog.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bawling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawling. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share