plaintive

[ pleyn-tiv ]
/ ˈpleɪn tɪv /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR plaintive ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

expressing sorrow or melancholy; mournful: a plaintive melody.

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Origin of plaintive

1350–1400; plaint + -ive; replacing Middle English plaintif<Middle French

OTHER WORDS FROM plaintive

plain·tive·ly, adverbplain·tive·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH plaintive

plaintiff, plaintive .

Words nearby plaintive

plainstones, plain suit, plaint, plaintext, plaintiff, plaintive, plain tripe, plain turkey, plain-vanilla, Plainview, Plainville
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to plaintive

melancholy, grief-stricken, sad, wistful, heartrending, mournful, sorrowful, cantankerous, crabby, cranky, disconsolate, doleful, grievous, grumpy, lamenting, lugubrious, out of sorts, pathetic, piteous, pitiful

Example sentences from the Web for plaintive

British Dictionary definitions for plaintive

plaintive
/ (ˈpleɪntɪv) /

adjective

expressing melancholy; mournful

Derived forms of plaintive

plaintively, adverbplaintiveness, noun

Word Origin for plaintive

C14: from Old French plaintif grieving, from plainte plaint
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012