- present participle of wail.
wailing
Americanadjective
-
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.
-
making a mournful sound, as a siren, music, the wind, etc..
A wailing police siren nears, passes, and fades.
-
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.
-
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
-
wailings
plural
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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.
-
an act or instance of complaining, protesting, etc..
“All art is propaganda, despite the wailing of purists,” she sneered.
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of wailing
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
During Arbaeen, they show their grief, mourning with weeping and wailing in memory of Hussein.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
They got into another convoy of huge black cars, and with lights flashing and a siren wailing, rolled out of town.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
The wailing sound you just heard was a Cleveland Browns fan screaming Why do I do this to myself?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
His team is languishing until Sonny gets behind the wheel and Robert Plant starts wailing and John Bonham begins bashing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025
On Saturday afternoon Ben rounded the corner of River Street and heard Toomer’s voice calling out in a wailing summer canticle to the last shoppers of the day.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
It’s more like a Wagnerian music-drama, a somber story built around intimations of doom and orchestrated with a soundtrack of pounding drums and high-pitched wailings and ululations.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 21, 2021
During one Loueke showcase, his distorted voice occupied the same trebly range as his guitar wailings and scrapings.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 9, 2017
I get annoyed by Alejandro González Iñárritu’s self-aggrandizement, his operatic wailings on the behalf of genius artists besieged by critics.
From Slate ● Feb. 18, 2015
He testily advised him “to leave the predictions of Cassandra and the wailings of Jeremiah backstage.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 27, 2010
Faint wailings are heard, and pale phantoms are seen gliding above the waves, which they are not yet spiritual enough to cross without human succor.
From The Student's Mythology A Compendium of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Hindoo, Chinese, Thibetian, Scandinavian, Celtic, Aztec, and Peruvian Mythologies by White, Catherine Ann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
