repine
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have repinedperfect
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has repinedperfect 3rd person singular
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am repiningprogressive 1st person singular
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have been repiningperfect progressive
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are repiningprogressive
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has been repiningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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repiningparticiple
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is repiningprogressive 3rd person singular
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repinessingular 3rd person
Past
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had repinedperfect
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was repiningprogressive singular
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had been repiningperfect progressive
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were repiningprogressive plural
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repinedsimple
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repinedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of repine
Explanation
The verb repine describes expressing gloom or discontent. Brooding, fretful, and sad — these are the traits of people who repine at their circumstances in life. Early American poet Anne Bradstreet used repine in her well-known poem, "Upon the Burning of Our House July 10th 1666," describing how the speaker got over the loss: "And when I could no longer look, / I blest His grace that gave and took, / That laid my goods now in the dust. / Yea, so it was, and so 'twas just. / It was his own; it was not mine. / Far be it that I should repine."
Vocabulary lists containing repine
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
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“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
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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.
Repine not then, that low thy lot is cast; Health gives to life or high or low it's zest; 'Tis Appetite that seasons our repast, And Weariness still finds the softest rest.
From An Essay on War, in Blank Verse; Honington Green, a Ballad; the Culprit, an Elegy; and Other Poems, on Various Subjects by Bloomfield, Nathaniel
Your good fates, though I Repine not at them, makes my unhappy fortunes Appeare farr more disastrous.
From A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 2 by Bullen, A. H. (Arthur Henry)
Who would henceforth with sadness Repine and weep in sorrow sore This blessed day of gladness.
From Hymns and Hymnwriters of Denmark by Aaberg, J. C. (Jens Christian)
Repine thee not; shroud not they faith in gloom; Shrink not to meet a disappointment's frown; Away beyond the narrow bordered tomb, Who here have borne the cross may wear the crown.
From Debris Selections from Poems by Wagner, Madge Morris
Repine not, my friend, at this unlooked-for reverse.
From Edgar Huntly or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker by Brown, Charles Brockden
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.
