bawling

[ baw-ling ]
See synonyms for bawling on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. crying or wailing lustily: On one of our trips we were kept awake most of the night by a bawling kid—and that kid was you!The mooing, bawling calf seemed to be an orphan.

  2. shouting loudly, especially to be heard outdoors, over other noise, or by a large group: He’s doing his basic training under a bawling drill sergeant who screams orders at the recruits.

noun
  1. the act of crying, wailing, or shouting: After recess I have to put up with the bawling of kids at each other across the classroom, still arguing about playtime disputes.

Origin of bawling

1
First recorded in 1570–80; bawl + -ing2 for the adjective senses; bawl + -ing1 for the noun sense

Words Nearby bawling

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bawling in a sentence

  • Eight men marched one evening into Llanyglo, bawling a bawdy chorus, with Sam Kerr showing the way.

    Mushroom Town | Oliver Onions
  • Long before we came in sight of the twin tents we heard a deep voice bawling our names.

    In Search of the Unknown | Robert W. Chambers
  • Even to his practiced hand the restoration of order was not easy; but by dint of much bawling and pounding he subdued the uproar.

    A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith Nicholson