1
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
a plangent, haunting song about a long-ago love
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in loud
marked by a high volume of sound
plangent organ music filled the church
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in ringing
marked by conspicuously full and rich sounds or tones
the strong, plangent tones of a Louis Armstrong trumpet solo
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 plangent
That deft level of craft is maintained throughout, while the aching musical bed by contemporary composer Nico Muhly adds just the right tone of plangent despair tinged with hope.
—
Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, that warhorse of English traditionalism, is mentioned six times, and his plangent music—invoking a lost, idyllic England; a greener, more pleasant land—could easily be the novel’s soundtrack.
—Charles McGrath, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2024
The Tokyo composer and guitarist riffs on themes of real and imagined memories and the passage of time in plangent compositions replete with airy tones, childlike melodies, and molasses-thick smears of resonant harmony.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 6 Oct. 2023
Indeed the music, with its banging, techno-style beats looped against plangent piano, analogizes Jamal’s predicament rather perfectly.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 25 Mar. 2023
The piercing sense of place that Samuel D. Hunter brings to his work, the majority of it set in his home state of Idaho, has perhaps never been accompanied by such plangent notes of sorrow as in his new play, Greater Clements.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2019
Image The pool party is a squirmy tour de force embellished with a punctuating zoom and a plangent sense of dread that make Kayla’s isolation feel like alienation.
—Bo Burnham, New York Times, 11 July 2018
Though a handful of tracks feature plangent cello by Katinka Kleijn (a member of the CSO and ICE), who shades the chord changes and enriches the interplay, most of the album is just two guitars ringing out with relaxed, natural beauty.
—Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader, 12 Oct. 2017
Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, that warhorse of English traditionalism, is mentioned six times, and his plangent music—invoking a lost, idyllic England; a greener, more pleasant land—could easily be the novel’s soundtrack.
—Charles McGrath, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2024
The Tokyo composer and guitarist riffs on themes of real and imagined memories and the passage of time in plangent compositions replete with airy tones, childlike melodies, and molasses-thick smears of resonant harmony.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 6 Oct. 2023
Indeed the music, with its banging, techno-style beats looped against plangent piano, analogizes Jamal’s predicament rather perfectly.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 25 Mar. 2023
The piercing sense of place that Samuel D. Hunter brings to his work, the majority of it set in his home state of Idaho, has perhaps never been accompanied by such plangent notes of sorrow as in his new play, Greater Clements.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2019
Image The pool party is a squirmy tour de force embellished with a punctuating zoom and a plangent sense of dread that make Kayla’s isolation feel like alienation.
—Bo Burnham, New York Times, 11 July 2018
Though a handful of tracks feature plangent cello by Katinka Kleijn (a member of the CSO and ICE), who shades the chord changes and enriches the interplay, most of the album is just two guitars ringing out with relaxed, natural beauty.
—Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader, 12 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plangent
Adjective
-
Outwardly glassy but mournful on the inside, the film is a fairly overt expression of grief — one that’s even more acute coming out just a year after 9/11.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2025
-
Sunday's mournful cowboy funeral is attended only by his family, the bunkhouse crew, and three close friends.—
Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez,
The Indianapolis Star,
18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Roger Goodell Taylor Swift breaks his record for loudest boos received at a Super Bowl. 13.—
Kevin Cusick,
Twin Cities,
10 Feb. 2025
-
Also garnering a Grammy and Peabody, the show centered on a gifted teen trying to come of age in a chaotic household full of loud and oft-dimwitted grown-ups and siblings.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
But with a will Strike all your harps and set them ringing; On hill and heath Let every breath Throw all its power into singing!—
Vinson Cunningham,
The New Yorker,
25 Dec. 2024
-
His ringing, carefree laugh mixed with soaring rhetoric about democracy, working families and hope.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Aug. 2024
Adjective
-
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
-
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
-
The genteel tranquility of his $10 million estate is shattered by the deafening scream of jet traffic with the regularity of commercial airline schedules.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
-
Zoom out: While these protests may be vociferous, there's an equally deafening volume of grievances the SEC sees.—
Hope King,
Axios,
28 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
How much better? After being eliminated in the first round of the two-round, timed shooting competition during the league’s 2023 All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, Herro won Saturday night’s Three-Point Contest at Chase Center in San Francisco.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
16 Feb. 2025
-
In the end, Herro became the fifth Heat player to win the 3-point contest with a final round score of 24.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
16 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Their son Donny attended to all of the funeral arrangements with the help of his wife Jan, a nurse, and his daughters Andrea and Alicia.—
Phil Potempa,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
-
Soon after the crash, West Marin Community Services co-organized an online fundraiser to assist Romo Zúñiga’s family with the funeral and medical expenses.—
Cameron Macdonald,
The Mercury News,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
What about the shrill speculations that nefarious Trumpian arm-twisting was involved which pressured Netanyahu to comply?—
Melik Kaylan,
Forbes,
20 Jan. 2025
-
His near-angelic vocals still hold the power to mesmerize — and evoke shrill screams of delight.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA TODAY,
29 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near plangent
Cite this Entry
“Plangent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plangent. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share