lament
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
an expression of grief or sorrow.
- Synonyms:
- moan, lamentation
-
a formal expression of sorrow or mourning, especially in verse or song; an elegy or dirge.
verb
noun
-
an expression of sorrow
-
a poem or song in which a death is lamented
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lamentsimple
-
lamentssimple
-
have lamentedperfect
-
has lamentedperfect
-
am lamentingprogressive
-
are lamentingprogressive
-
is lamentingprogressive
-
have been lamentingperfect progressive
-
has been lamentingperfect progressive
Past
-
lamentedsimple
-
had lamentedperfect
-
was lamentingprogressive
-
were lamentingprogressive
-
had been lamentingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lament
First recorded in 1520–30; (noun) from Latin lāmentum “plaint”; (verb) from Latin lāmentārī, derivative of lāmentum
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.
Vocabulary lists containing lament
Night
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Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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The Alchemist
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As performed by Price, Baez and Memphis Mariachi, their version of “Deportee” manages to be everything: a lament, a celebration of the lives lost, a tribute, a reminder.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
Recently I was talking to business leaders in Phoenix and their lament was not job loss but the inability to find the right workers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The familiar lament that Indian football fans have learnt to live with is back after the "greatest show on earth" kicked off last week.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
Even though the Bobcats’ shaky defense spotted USC two unearned runs, the Trojans will surely lament stranding runners in scoring position in each of the first seven innings.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
Somewhere out in the darkness, a phoenix was singing in a way Harry had never heard before: a stricken lament of terrible beauty.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Later she laments how the revelation brought her to a low point in her life: “How could my blood do something so atrocious? How could my blood be the cause of other people’s bloodshed?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Oh D.R. me that was close!" it laments.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
"I feel like my hands are tied because I can't find her," she laments.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
“Club Sport Marítimo de La Guaira profoundly laments the irreparable loss of the wife and sons of our player Lucas Trejo,” the team wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
“But she just can’t get there,” he laments.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
She has lamented that the UN has become what she calls a "risk-conservative organization."
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
They lamented the lack of public transportation options, then marveled at Waymo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Rowlinson lamented that "hundreds" of people had been displaced, adding that many locals had offered spare rooms, bars and restaurants.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Some beachgoers have lamented that Laguna Beach’s policy is too restrictive, and that long days spent on the sand require more shade than a small umbrella provides, particularly for families with small children.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
Elizabeth Drinker heard more stories of friends who had died, and lamented: “Desolution, Cruelty and Distress have of late resounded in our ears from many quarters.”
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
For that reason, lamenting the benefits he never received after his death is, in my view, misplaced.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
The Italian dismissed Djokovic effortlessly on Centre Court 12 months ago - a defeat that left the seven-time Wimbledon champion lamenting his age.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Those in the data center industry are lamenting the state of public opinion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
What value is there in an existence spent lamenting what was and what could’ve been?
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
I could take solace in their presence or I could fall down in a heap, lamenting what I’d lost.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
