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lament

American  

[luh-ment] / ləˈmɛnt /

verb (used with object)

• laments,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lamented,
  past participle,  past
• lamenting
  present participle

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)

• laments,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lamented,
  past participle,  past
• lamenting
  present participle

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

   Synonyms:

   weep, grieve

2. to mourn deeply.

   Synonyms:

   weep, grieve

noun

• laments
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• lamenter
  noun
• lamentingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• laments
  plural

Participles

• lamenting
  present
• lamented
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• lament
  simple
• laments
  simple
• have lamented
  perfect
• has lamented
  perfect
• am lamenting
  progressive
• are lamenting
  progressive
• is lamenting
  progressive
• have been lamenting
  perfect progressive
• has been lamenting
  perfect progressive

Past

• lamented
  simple
• had lamented
  perfect
• was lamenting
  progressive
• were lamenting
  progressive
• had been lamenting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will lament
  simple
• will have lamented
  perfect
• will be lamenting
  progressive
• will have been lamenting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of lament

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

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Explanation

If you are really upset or sorry about something, you might lament it. A lament is full of regret and grief. If you lament something, then you feel sorry about it. You could lament a mistake you made, or you could lament a horrible thing that happened to a friend. Also, a lament is an expression of grief. So if you keep saying how sorry you are about something, someone could say, "Enough of your laments!" There's also an old literary form called "a lament," which expresses feelings of loss in a long dramatic poem.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lament laments lamented lamenting

Hydroelectric dams have proliferated across Southeast Asia in recent years, but production drops off in the dry season and critics lament the ecological impacts.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

Former Treasury officials lament: "There is always a reason for procrastination."

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

If the dog jumped the fence and dinged the neighbors’ cars, “you wouldn’t shake your head and lament about how the dog/whacker system had ‘gone rogue’ ” he observed.

From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026

An openly gay artist, Guitarrica skyrocketed to fame when his mournful, late-night lament “El Conticinio” found viral success after he uploaded it to Soundcloud in 2018.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

She, being the nearest woman relative, raised a formal lament for the dead of the family.

From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck

Hutchins is pessimistic about staving off the ban and laments what it would mean for the city's famed French restaurants.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

McVay laments, usually lightheartedly, the loss of staff members that have ascended to become head coaches.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

The report laments that “health care has become unaffordable for millions of Americans even when they have insurance.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

"These small windows that the world sees, the little openings here and there including secret schools for girls, are just meant to fool everybody," she laments with visible sadness.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

“For the first time since moving to Seattle, we had money problems,” she laments.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Tesla fans have been mourning the news online, with one person calling it "the best vehicle Tesla has ever made, external" as he lamented it being "discontinued next year".

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Johnson lamented what he called poor officiating after the game but also told his team that the errors needed to be cleaned up by next week’s playoff opener.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

So many talented players of his generation lamented the presence of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, believing the 'Big Three' to be a blockade preventing them from becoming a Grand Slam champion.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

“Chinatown used to be a fantastic late-night food destination,” lamented Ari Saal Forman, one of the restaurant’s three co-owners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

“You got the best one,” Miss Ohio lamented.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

College students will be college students, but they weren’t the only ones I heard lamenting that Pappas might not have what it takes.

From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026

He then sent out the names of the districts being targeted, quietly lamenting a few typos.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

I gave the staff at each of them my sob story, lamenting over my lost wedding dress.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

She received dozens of letters lamenting the “good old days” of “American” recipes like cola-soaked pork chops, but she didn’t listen.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

As Torak passed beneath, the trees sighed mournfully, as if already lamenting his death.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

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Related Words

• bemoan
• deplore
• regret

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