lament

[luh-ment]

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

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

/ ləˈmɛnt /

verb

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

noun

1. an expression of sorrow

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

Other Word Forms

• lamenter noun
• lamentingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of lament¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of lament¹

C16: from Latin lāmentum

Example Sentences

My mother deemed it unsanitary, lamenting that those infamous basins of water were filled with saliva and oral germs galore.

Read more on Salon

As Mr. Potter laments and documents, that includes medical care, car repairs and home construction.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The fixture marked a first game in interim charge for former player Steven Smith, but he was left lamenting repeated problems.

Read more on BBC

Redick lamented that he wished the team could have gotten him a shot in his first preseason action.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“A lot of stuff moves slower, a lot of stuff stops moving,” Palmer Luckey, founder of the defense technology company Anduril, lamented recently to reporters.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bemoan 
• deplore 
• regret