bemoan
Americanverb (used with object)
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to express distress or grief over; lament.
to bemoan one's fate.
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to regard with regret or disapproval.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have bemoanedperfect
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has bemoanedperfect 3rd person singular
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are bemoaningprogressive
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have been bemoaningperfect progressive
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has been bemoaningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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bemoanssingular 3rd person
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is bemoaningprogressive 3rd person singular
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bemoaningparticiple
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am bemoaningprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had bemoanedperfect
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had been bemoaningperfect progressive
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bemoanedsimple
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was bemoaningprogressive singular
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were bemoaningprogressive plural
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bemoanedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of bemoan
before 1000; be- + moan; replacing bemene, Middle English bimenen, Old English bimǣnan ( bi- be- + mǣnan to moan)
Explanation
Some people love to complain, don't they? Complainers also tend to bemoan things, which can be translated to "Oh no! Why me?" A more casual expression for bemoan is to moan and groan. If you step in a puddle and get your shoes wet, you might moan and groan about, or bemoan, your bad luck to whoever will listen. Just about any bad or annoying thing can be bemoaned. In fact, people love to bemoan how much other people are moaning and groaning about things!
Vocabulary lists containing bemoan
100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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This Week in Words: October 1 - 6, 2017
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bemoan the impact of streaming services all you want, but it is a gift that a tune like that can percolate so widely in the underground while the mainstream barely notices.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2018
Bemoan the decline of arthouse TV if you must, but as these anthologies continually remind us, there are far worse crimes than populism.
From The Verge • Jan. 4, 2016
February 16 American Bemoan Luge Changes as Germans Take Two Medals The American women blame changes to the luge course after finishing out of the medals.
From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2010
Bemoan, be-mōn′, v.t. to lament: bewail: to pity.—v.i. to grieve.—ns.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
