Showing results for "lamenting"

• present participle of lament.

lamenting

American  

[luh-men-ting] / ləˈmɛn tɪŋ /

adjective

1. speaking of something with sorrow, regret, or disappointment; evoking feelings of this kind.

   After the controlled mayhem of their first number, the band went into a laid-back groove with a lamenting melody on the sax.

   As sure as the season changes, we are once again hearing the lamenting call of British Columbia's most vocal crusader against salmon farming.

2. mourning or grieving over something, especially death or profound loss or suffering.

   In some countries, people follow the custom of leading a procession with the decorated body of the dead, for the benefit of the lamenting relatives.

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noun

1. the act of grieving or of expressing regret or disappointment.

   Complain and point the finger all you want, but this is not a problem that lamenting will solve.

Other Word Forms

• lamentingly
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of lamenting

First recorded in 1510–20; lament ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; lament ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun sense

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lamenting

Another used A.I. to animate a photo of Walters, the digital replica lamenting his sentence of “death by incarceration.”

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

We observe them lamenting how powerless they feel: Their medical skills can do some good, but not nearly enough.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

"I was born in the Revolution and through it I was able to find my way," he said, lamenting the loss of Castro's leadership in Cuba today.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

She received dozens of letters lamenting the “good old days” of “American” recipes like cola-soaked pork chops, but she didn’t listen.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

Some of the villagers fled up the ravines and hid in the forest, and some made ready to fight for their lives, and some did neither but stood about lamenting.

From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin

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