as in to whine
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
the time-honored tradition of new recruits complaining about the food in the mess hall
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of complain
Next morning at breakfast Amby complains grandly of his soreness.
—
Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Nah — not very long later, Tony is referencing his Bond obsession, complaining about the generic name of the secret drone-control computer program everyone is battling for here.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
Cruz and other senators have made a lot of noise about the importance of beating China back to the Moon, and some have, like Bridenstine, complained about the complexity of SpaceX's architecture.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 3 Sep. 2025
But everybody was complaining and asking for a hot one.
—Andy Wang, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for complain
Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Nah — not very long later, Tony is referencing his Bond obsession, complaining about the generic name of the secret drone-control computer program everyone is battling for here.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
Cruz and other senators have made a lot of noise about the importance of beating China back to the Moon, and some have, like Bridenstine, complained about the complexity of SpaceX's architecture.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 3 Sep. 2025
But everybody was complaining and asking for a hot one.
—Andy Wang, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for complain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for complain
Verb
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The cats kept them up each night with their incessant whining and scratching at their doors.—
Duaa Eldeib,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
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In lesser hands, such a question, especially from a young white male who plays guitar for a living, could come off as whining.—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Witnesses screamed in horror and fled for cover after the bullet struck Kirk in the neck.—
Michael Ruiz , Peter D'Abrosca , Julia Bonavita , Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , David Spunt , CB Cotton,
FOXNews.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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Broadcast and cable networks like CNN did show some of the footage, but stopped the images and ran only audio, with the sounds of those in the crowd screaming.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Julia says, dropping to all fours and moaning amid a pile of straw on the floor.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
5 Sep. 2025
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Ellis could be heard moaning and could be seen lying on the ground.—
Elena Santa Cruz,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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University administrators should support tough professors and resist the temptation to placate grumbling undergraduates.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
9 Sep. 2025
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Windows users—many of whom perennially grumble about the addition of new features to the operating system—can breathe a sigh of relief.—
Michael Muchmore,
PC Magazine,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Although full disclosure, those two words were muttered in the press box Sunday after Nix had thrown two unsightly picks through the first three quarters of the Broncos’ win over Tennessee.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
7 Sep. 2025
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There are few actors whose disembodied voices could carry long stretches of cinema, but Dafoe manages it, turning monologues about marionette mechanics or muttered complaints about hotel politics into something weirdly magnetic.—
Leila Latif,
IndieWire,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Not knowing much about the condition, Mares-Sedillo worried that her face would be permanently altered.—
Meredith Wilshere,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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The condition's most severe symptoms are sensitivities to spices, salt, and sweets, which means there's no reason to worry about a geographic tongue diagnosis.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Complain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/complain. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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