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

Topics related to Ma have generated millions of views on RedNote and other Chinese social media platforms, with some users rooting for him, and others lamenting about the state of sport in China.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

Any given search might surface a terse op-ed lamenting higher prices or news coverage of criticism by regulators and policymakers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

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

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