whimper

[hwim-per, wim-]

verb (used without object)

1. to cry with low, plaintive, broken sounds.

   Synonyms: sob, weep, whine

verb (used with object)

1. to utter in a whimper.

noun

1. a whimpering cry or sound.

   Synonyms: sob, whine

whimper

/ ˈwɪmpə /

verb

1. (intr) to cry, sob, or whine softly or intermittently

2. to complain or say (something) in a whining plaintive way

noun

1. a soft plaintive whine

Other Word Forms

• whimperer noun
• whimperingly adverb
• unwhimpering adjective
• unwhimperingly adverb
• whimpering noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of whimper¹

1505–15; obsolete whimp to whine + -er ⁶

Word History and Origins

Origin of whimper¹

C16: from dialect whimp, of imitative origin

Example Sentences

Until recently, it looked as if Sasaki’s first season with the Dodgers was going to end with a whimper.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Out of a men's Euros last year with a whimper, not even at this year's women's event, and a club game with a co-efficient dropping through the floor.

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DeChambeau was a shadow of the player who stormed to victory at Pinehurst last June as his title defence faded with a whimper.

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However, a hollow feeling was left after both finals, given how much of a whimper the Scots went out with on each occasion.

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However, not everyone was blown away, with the Hollywood Reporter saying it's "a disappointing farewell", and Mashable saying the series risked going out with the "fizzled whimper of a message self-destructing in a tape deck".

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Related Words

• moan 
• weep