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:
In a recent lament, the New York Times waves at unnamed “many experts” to say this was a sensible way to foster an EV industry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
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
Hadar writes a blog called The Future Is L.A., which is part love letter to Los Angeles and part lament on unmet potential.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
In the past, she would lament to her friends while trying to understand her parents' behaviour.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
My lament subsided into bitter tears that left me shaking as if all my limbs would come loose from my body.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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
“Sometimes I think I can feel the planet just hemorrhaging under all this greed. Like it’s tectonic,” she laments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
It laments the "British government has so far done nothing to bring her to justice".
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
In her book, “A Mother’s Reckoning,” she laments not invading her son’s privacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
“Occasionally you’ll get a client who thinks he’s bought a guaranteed ticket to the summit,” laments Peter Athans, a highly respected guide who’s made eleven trips to Everest and reached the top four times.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Previously, these users had to rely on “manual monitoring” of Truth Social, the company lamented.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
They lamented the lack of public transportation options, then marveled at Waymo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Yet some users saying goodbye this week lamented the chasm that would be left after their companions vanish.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Actor Justin Baldoni and his wife, Emily, lamented trauma and pain endured by their family in their first public remarks after a long-running legal battle with co-star Blake Lively.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
“It’s always a terrible thing when a scythe leaves us,” the High Blade lamented, “especially one as well-respected as Scythe Faraday.”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
For that reason, lamenting the benefits he never received after his death is, in my view, misplaced.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Topics related to Ma have generated millions of views on RedNote and other Chinese social media platforms, with some users rooting for him, and others lamenting about the state of sport in China.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
Like Eagle Rockers, San Franciscans were done merely lamenting the community’s loss.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
In life, she’s the kid who realizes that parents don’t love all their children equally, and instead of lamenting that absence, surrounds herself with a chosen family that values her as she is.
From Salon ● May 20, 2026
The face of Elnora came to my mind’s eye, lamenting the waste of all her teaching.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
