weeping

[wee-ping]

See more synonyms for weeping on Thesaurus.com

adjective

expressing grief, sorrow, or any overwhelming emotion by shedding tears: weeping multitudes.
tearful; weepy: a weeping fit.
tending or liable to cry; given to crying.

dripping or oozing liquid.
(of trees, shrubs, etc.) having slender, drooping branches.

Origin of weeping

before 900; Middle English; Old English wepende. See weep¹, -ing²

Related formsweep·ing·ly, adverbun·weep·ing, adjective

weep

[weep]

verb (used without object), wept, weep·ing.

to express grief, sorrow, or any overpowering emotion by shedding tears; shed tears; cry: to weep for joy; to weep with rage.
to let fall drops of water or other liquid; drip; leak: The old water tank was weeping at the seams.
to exude water or liquid, as soil, a rock, a plant stem, or a sore.

verb (used with object), wept, weep·ing.

to weep for (someone or something); mourn with tears or other expression of sorrow: He wept his dead brother.
to shed (tears); pour forth in weeping: to weep tears of gratitude.
to let fall or give forth in drops: trees weeping an odorous gum.
to pass, bring, put, etc., to or into a specified condition with the shedding of tears (usually followed by away, out, etc.): to weep one's eyes out; to weep oneself to sleep.

noun

weeping, or a fit of weeping.
the exudation of water or liquid.

Origin of weep

before 900; Middle English wepen, Old English wēpan to wail; cognate with Gothic wōpjan to call, Old Norse æpa to cry out

Synonyms for weep

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1. sob; wail, lament. 4. bewail, bemoan, lament.

Antonyms for weep

1. laugh, rejoice.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for weeping

teary, wailing, sobbing, teary-eyed, blubbering, howling, nodding, tearful, weepy, grievous, mournful, sad, sorrowful, pendulous, cernuous

Examples from the Web for weeping

Contemporary Examples of weeping

There is weeping and gnashing of teeth in Blue State America today.
For Conservatives, Liberal Tears Taste Sweet
Matt Lewis
November 5, 2014
Distraught, confused and ashamed, both men broke down in the courtroom, weeping like children and begging for forgiveness.
Did Picasso Try to Steal the Mona Lisa?
Nick Mafi
October 23, 2014
“I think I am a big part of the reason he is gay,” she says, weeping.
Mississippi Is Hell for These Lesbians
Emily Shire
August 8, 2014
This weekend, thousands of people will stand in line to pay $13 for the privilege of grieving to the point of weeping.
The Science of Weepies: Why We Love Crying at the Movies
Elizabeth Picciuto
June 4, 2014
The sound of weeping soldiers punctured the silence in the theater.
The Names You Don’t Hear: Nearly 200 Women Have Died in Iraq and Afghanistan
Kate Hoit
May 26, 2014

Historical Examples of weeping

If the boys had not appeared we might now be weeping in a melancholy row.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
Her eyes were red with weeping, and her hair was in disorder.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
She was too terrified to add her weeping to the wail of the wind—it would have been too ghastly.
Dust
Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
I pictured them in four separate heaps in the snow, all weeping.
A Woman Tenderfoot
Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
He was looking steadfastly at his grandmother and weeping piteously.
What Sami Sings with the Birds
Johanna Spyri

British Dictionary definitions for weeping

weeping

adjective

(of plants) having slender hanging branches

Derived Formsweepingly, adverb

weep

verb weeps, weeping or wept

to shed (tears) as an expression of grief or unhappiness
(tr foll by out) to utter, shedding tears
(when intr, foll by for) to mourn or lament (for something)
to exude (drops of liquid)
(intr) (of a wound, etc) to exude a watery or serous fluid

noun

a spell of weeping

Word Origin for weep

Old English wēpan; related to Gothic wōpjan, Old High German wuofan, Old Slavonic vabiti to call

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

Word Origin and History for weeping

weep

Old English wepan "shed tears, cry" (class VII strong verb; past tense weop, past participle wopen), from Proto-Germanic *wopjan (cf. Old Norse op, Old High German wuof "shout, shouting, crying," Old Saxon wopian, Gothic wopjan "to shout, cry out, weep"), from PIE *wab- "to cry, scream" (cf. Latin vapulare "to be flogged;" Old Church Slavonic vupiti "to call," vypu "gull"). Weeping willow (cf. French saule pleureur, German trauerweide) is recorded from 1731. The tree is native to Asia; the first brought to England were imported 1748, from the Euphrates. Replaced cypress as a funerary emblem.