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

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

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

From Slate • May 6, 2026

"It's ridiculous," he said, lamenting how he has had to cut down on driving.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 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