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wail

[ weyl ]
/ weɪl /
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See synonyms for: wail / wailed / wailing / wailer on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
to express deep sorrow for; mourn; lament; bewail: to wail the dead;to wail one's fate.
to express in wailing; cry or say in lamentation: to wail one's grief.
noun
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Origin of wail

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English weile (verb and noun), perhaps derivative of Old English weilāwei wellaway; compare Old English wǣlan “to torment,” Old Norse wǣla “to wail”

OTHER WORDS FROM wail

wail·er, nounun·wailed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wail

wail , whale
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wail in a sentence

  • He threatened the wailer with his fist, and the black cowered down, glaring at him with sullen eyes.

    Adventure|Jack London
  • Marie took the poor wailer from her with a divine motion and carried it to the hearth.

    The Lady of Fort St. John|Mary Hartwell Catherwood
  • Then follows the story: Luisa, the Wailer, in life was a woman of the people, very beautiful.

  • After weeping over her dead body he sets out in search of a Wailer.

    Russian Fairy Tales|W. R. S. Ralston

British Dictionary definitions for wail

wail
/ (weɪl) /

verb
(intr) to utter a prolonged high-pitched cry, as of grief or misery
(intr) to make a sound resembling such a crythe wind wailed in the trees
(tr) to lament, esp with mournful sounds
noun
a prolonged high-pitched mournful cry or sound

Derived forms of wail

wailer, nounwailful, adjectivewailfully, adverb

Word Origin for wail

C14: of Scandinavian origin; related to Old Norse vǣla to wail, Old English woe
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
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