lament

American  

[luh-ment] / ləˈmɛnt /

verb (used with object)

1. to feel or express sorrow or regret for.

   to lament his absence.

   Synonyms:

   deplore, bemoan, bewail

2. to mourn for or over.

   Synonyms:

   deplore, bemoan, bewail

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verb (used without object)

1. to feel, show, or express grief, sorrow, or regret.

   Synonyms:

   weep, grieve

2. to mourn deeply.

   Synonyms:

   weep, grieve

noun

1. an expression of grief or sorrow.

   Synonyms:

   moan, lamentation

2. a formal expression of sorrow or mourning, especially in verse or song; an elegy or dirge.

   Synonyms:

   threnody, monody

lament British  

/ ləˈmɛnt /

verb

1. to feel or express sorrow, remorse, or regret (for or over)

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noun

1. an expression of sorrow

2. a poem or song in which a death is lamented

Other Word Forms

• lamenter noun
• lamentingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of lament

First recorded in 1520–30; (noun) from Latin lāmentum “plaint”; (verb) from Latin lāmentārī, derivative of lāmentum

Example Sentences

"You've gone from all you that could be to all that you once were," he laments on Slow Jam.

From BBC

"It's like changing the rules in the middle of a game," Ameh lamented.

From Barron's

On the eve of the Civil War, the Columbian Register lamented the growing likelihood of “the stars of our political firmament” being “torn from their orbits, and plunging madly about, or tilting one the other.”

From The Wall Street Journal

“I’m all the way in Florida and have never been anywhere near SoCal and even I know how legendary that venue is. RIP to a real one,” lamented another.

From Los Angeles Times

Larry Watts, 86, an attorney who has lived in the community for more than 50 years, lamented the shadow that the Simpson killing cast on the neighbrohood.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bemoan
• deplore
• regret