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
Maybe The Proclaimers will have to rewrite the lyrics of their famous deindustrialisation lament, Letter to America.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
While his narration is filled with rather precious declarations of love and lament, it sheds no light on his thoughts about the protests, or the reasons the activists want him around.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
If he were a pole vaulter, he would set the bar at 20 feet and lament that he reached only 19.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
The hobbits fell asleep to the sound of the soft singing of Bregalad, that seemed to lament in many tongues the fall of trees that he had loved.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
“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
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
"I feel like my hands are tied because I can't find her," she laments.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
The inspiration for the name comes from the Japanese term mottainai, which laments waste - think of the phrase "waste not, want not" and you have the sentiment.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
It seems so unfair that a whole family like this is struck by one disease, Farmer laments.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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
"All this window dressing isn't for us," lamented Sima, echoing a joke that went viral on social media:
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
Lawyers and advocates have lamented that this bedrock principle was even up for debate, let alone affirmed by anything less than unanimity among the justices.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
“We every where met with the Ruins of large Villages with no Traces left of them but the Foundation of the Houses,” lamented David Samwell, the ship’s surgeon.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
The brother of the man who passed away when he was 70, having only claimed one Social Security check, was lamenting how he could have used that money to fund his retirement.
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
Internet threads attracted hundreds of comments lamenting “foggageddon.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026
For several hundred years commentators on the English language have been predicting, lamenting, or celebrating the imminent extinction of the subjunctive mood.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
