whimper

[hwim-per, wim-]

verb (used without object)

1. to cry with low, plaintive, broken sounds.

   Synonyms: sob, weep, whine

verb (used with object)

1. to utter in a whimper.

noun

1. a whimpering cry or sound.

   Synonyms: sob, whine

whimper

/ ˈwɪmpə /

verb

1. (intr) to cry, sob, or whine softly or intermittently

2. to complain or say (something) in a whining plaintive way

noun

1. a soft plaintive whine

Other Word Forms

• whimperer noun
• whimperingly adverb
• unwhimpering adjective
• unwhimperingly adverb
• whimpering noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of whimper¹

1505–15; obsolete whimp to whine + -er ⁶

Word History and Origins

Origin of whimper¹

C16: from dialect whimp, of imitative origin

Example Sentences

Out of a men's Euros last year with a whimper, not even at this year's women's event, and a club game with a co-efficient dropping through the floor.

From BBC

DeChambeau was a shadow of the player who stormed to victory at Pinehurst last June as his title defence faded with a whimper.

From BBC

However, a hollow feeling was left after both finals, given how much of a whimper the Scots went out with on each occasion.

From BBC

However, not everyone was blown away, with the Hollywood Reporter saying it's "a disappointing farewell", and Mashable saying the series risked going out with the "fizzled whimper of a message self-destructing in a tape deck".

From BBC

But the case is still “something to keep an eye on because it could very well be that this case ends … not with a bang, but a whimper,” McQuade added.

From Salon

Related Words

• moan 
• weep