bemoan
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to express distress or grief over; lament.
to bemoan one's fate.
-
to regard with regret or disapproval.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bemoansimple
-
bemoanssimple
-
have bemoanedperfect
-
has bemoanedperfect
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am bemoaningprogressive
-
are bemoaningprogressive
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is bemoaningprogressive
-
have been bemoaningperfect progressive
-
has been bemoaningperfect progressive
Past
-
bemoanedsimple
-
had bemoanedperfect
-
was bemoaningprogressive
-
were bemoaningprogressive
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had been bemoaningperfect progressive
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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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.
See Examples For:
Frustrated drivers have taken to social media to bemoan the lengthy waits at gas stations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
Today, however, we come not to bemoan the bad times but celebrate the good times, for the Angels and Dodgers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
Angus says producers of other reality shows often bemoan that everyone is getting on and there isn't enough drama.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2025
And in several anonymized survey responses shared exclusively with Salon, parents didn’t bemoan their offspring as being anything close to lazy or entitled.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2025
You would bemoan Freddy’s death whether you knew him or not, say you were sorry and ask what had happened, like you really cared.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
He approves of strengthening some local restrictions but bemoans the "terrible cost" and wonders "for HOW LONG?"
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025
Wall Street bemoans Mamdani’s win, Trump threatens Jay Powell again, and the Bezos-Sanchez wedding is flashy and splashy.
From Slate ● Jun. 28, 2025
Brinkley bemoans the present colonization of the fashion space by digital media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2025
She bemoans that she had to pay for her interpreter to manage treatment.
From Salon ● Jan. 22, 2025
Again and again he bemoans his fate, and weeps aloud and sighs.
From Four Arthurian Romances by Comfort, William Wistar
They bemoaned the condition of roads, which are pockmarked with potholes, as well as the pace of development, which has accelerated in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Tottenham's then-head coach Thomas Frank bemoaned the automatic three-match ban, but the club decided against appealing, believing they had no chance of success.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Chan bemoaned the government's slowness to act, citing that Taiwan's machines must offer a "guaranteed prize" if a certain amount of money is spent.
From Barron's ● May 31, 2026
Kavanaugh bemoaned the male loneliness crisis just before they were joined by Patel, who cried, “Does this bar take Kaaaaash?”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
“When I left the military, I sort of lost my way,” Taske bemoaned in a thick Aussie accent.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Despite critics bemoaning the addition of a Superbowl-style performance , externalto the beautiful game's biggest event, the children's performance alongside global stars Burna Boy and Shakira was viewed by many millions around the world.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
In a video, Dr. Becky marks Employee Appreciation Week by bemoaning how uncelebrated parents’ wins often are.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
But she wishes some of those fans had been shopping at her stores on a monthly or quarterly basis in recent years rather than now bemoaning what’s been lost.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
"The Olympics only happen every four years and only a very few times in a career," he said, bemoaning the lack of "Olympic atmosphere" in Bormio.
From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026
Yesterday when Tla Flor was up with the boys, Mama was bemoaning that her rose bushes were so scrabbly and saying she wasn’t going to be seeing much of her favorite flowers this year.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
