wailing

[wey-ling]

adjective

1. uttering a prolonged, inarticulate, mournful cry, usually high-pitched or clear-sounding, as in grief or suffering.

   In the village we passed a funeral procession, the wailing widow following behind the body of her husband.

2. making a mournful sound, as a siren, music, the wind, etc..

   A wailing police siren nears, passes, and fades.

3. complaining, protesting, whining, or crying.

   He rubbed the bare foot of the wailing toddler and planted a kiss on it.

   They’re always trying to correct the market, usually in the interests of some wailing pressure group.

4. Slang.,  expressing emotion musically or verbally in an exciting, satisfying way.

   The song celebrates with a Cajun-flavored stomp accompanied by a wailing fiddle and screaming electric guitar.

noun

1. a mournful cry or sound, or the act of making such a sound.

   The wailing of the mourners rose and fell, merging with the drums and the shaman’s chants.

2. an act or instance of complaining, protesting, etc..

   “All art is propaganda, despite the wailing of purists,” she sneered.

3. Slang.,  the act of expressing emotion musically or verbally in an exciting, satisfying way.

   At this live show from 1974, the soulful wailing of the chorus in the background is utterly spine-tingling.

Other Word Forms

• wailingly adverb
• unwailing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wailing¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; wail ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; wail ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses

Example Sentences

The All-Stars do their brash, spectacular thing, and a lot of that is wailing away, although they could also be mysterious.

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The wailing was so loud that Penelope had to fight the urge not to cover her ears.

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"He was heard wailing and was warned about his behaviour," Mr Mably KC said.

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That wailing sound you hear drifting across the Atlantic are the cries of climate activists as London weighs a big step away from net-zero insanity.

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Tick the paddle shifter, the wailing revs slip slightly—a kind of warble—then head through the roof again.

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Related Words

• sobbing www.thesaurus.com
• weeping