bewail

American  

[bih-weyl] / bɪˈweɪl /

verb (used with object)

1. to express deep sorrow for; lament.

   a little child bewailing the loss of her dog.

   Synonyms:

   mourn, bemoan

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verb (used without object)

1. to express grief.

bewail British  

/ bɪˈweɪl /

verb

1. to express great sorrow over (a person or thing); lament

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Other Word Forms

• bewailed adjective
• bewailer noun
• bewailing noun
• bewailingly adverb
• bewailment noun
• unbewailed adjective
• unbewailing adjective

Etymology

Origin of bewail

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; be-, wail

Example Sentences

He also frequently bewails the exchange of his “real life” as a travel writer for his shadow-self as a spy, a predicament which he finds “fraught, annoying, perplexing, duplicitous.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Readers who don’t make it that far will no doubt bewail the novel’s unlikely premise and other stumbling-block implausibilities.

From Los Angeles Times

As his power ballad bewails, he's just Ken.

From Salon

And of course, articles bewailing “the death of newspaper comics” will certainly show up.

From Los Angeles Times

Damon Wise of Deadline also noted that Depp's role is "suspiciously light on dialogue" but bewailed the lack of passion on screen.

From BBC