wailful

American  

[weyl-fuhl] / ˈweɪl fəl /

adjective

1. mournful; plaintive.

---

Other Word Forms

• wailfully adverb

Etymology

Origin of wailful

First recorded in 1535–45; wail + -ful

Example Sentences

Throughout them all, she has to adjust continually an intricate assembly of instruments: turntable speed controls, cutting tools, a wailful of sound devices.

From Time Magazine Archive

Loretta Schwartz's articles for Philadelphia have won her a wailful of journalism awards�and an annual income of less than $7,500.

From Time Magazine Archive

But you, Sir Thurio, are not sharp enough; You must lay lime to tangle her desires By wailful sonnets, whose composed rhymes Should be full-fraught with serviceable vows.

From Two Gentlemen of Verona by Shakespeare, William

The prayers and the wailful chanting passed over his head like waves, his heart was straitened, red sparks whirled before his eyes.

From Yiddish Tales by Various

But although in his attention to the wailful melody of the words he scarcely noticed the meaning, something of the old passion and fervor had gone out of his voice.

From Dreamers of the Ghetto by Zangwill, Israel