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

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

Example Sentences

What value is there in an existence spent lamenting what was and what could’ve been?

From Salon • May 30, 2026

Like Eagle Rockers, San Franciscans were done merely lamenting the community’s loss.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

She called herself “kinda done with politics,” lamenting that there was “so much division” in the country.

From Slate • May 6, 2026

Internet threads attracted hundreds of comments lamenting “foggageddon.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 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