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whimper

[hwim-per, wim-]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to cry with low, plaintive, broken sounds.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to utter in a whimper.
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noun
  1. a whimpering cry or sound.
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Origin of whimper

1505–15; obsolete whimp to whine + -er6
Related formswhim·per·er, nounwhim·per·ing·ly, adverbun·whim·per·ing, adjectiveun·whim·per·ing·ly, adverb

Synonyms

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1. whine, weep, sob. 3. whine, sob.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

moan, weep, bleat, sob, fuss, pule, object, whine, snivel, blubber, complain, mewl

Examples from the Web for whimpered

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But that period going by, she became querulous about the cold, and shivered and whimpered.

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • At such times he whimpered and snarled in his sleep, and they that looked on said that his dreams were bad.

    White Fang

    Jack London

  • White Fang sat down in the shadow of a birch and whimpered softly.

    White Fang

    Jack London

  • "Oh, don't say that, doctor," whimpered the poor withered creature on the bed.

  • When I whimpered about my troubles she told me her own story.

    Keziah Coffin

    Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for whimpered

whimper

verb
  1. (intr) to cry, sob, or whine softly or intermittently
  2. to complain or say (something) in a whining plaintive way
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noun
  1. a soft plaintive whine
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Derived Formswhimperer, nounwhimpering, nounwhimperingly, adverb

Word Origin

C16: from dialect whimp, of imitative origin
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 whimpered

whimper

v.

1510s, probably of imitative origin, or from German wimmern "to whimper, moan." The noun is first recorded c.1700. Related: Whimpered; whimpering.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper