lamented
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lamented
Explanation
Use the adjective lamented to talk fondly about someone who's died. You might describe your favorite elementary school teacher as "my dear lamented Mrs. McGinty." Lamented is often used in the phrase "late lamented," which implies that the person you're talking about is dead and that you really miss him or her. Inanimate objects can also be lamented, like the neighborhood book shop that closed, or a magazine you used to read that is no longer in print. The root Latin word is lamentationem, which describes wailing, moaning, and weeping.
Vocabulary lists containing lamented
Much Ado About Nothing
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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This Week In Culture: May 31–June 5, 2020
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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.
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
“Everyone is on their phone all the time,” she lamented Sunday morning at the bustling Aligre outdoor produce market, where neighbors were, just like before the riots, buying fruit, vegetables, meat and fish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Townspeople fought over religious differences and lamented the conscription of Framlingham’s able-bodied men.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.