Moan
[məʊn] or [mon]
Definition
(v. i.) To make a low prolonged sound of grief or pain, whether articulate or not; to groan softly and continuously.
(v. i.) To emit a sound like moan; -- said of things inanimate; as, the wind moans.
(v. t.) To bewail audibly; to lament.
(v. t.) To afflict; to distress.
(v. i.) A low prolonged sound, articulate or not, indicative of pain or of grief; a low groan.
(v. i.) A low mournful or murmuring sound; -- of things.
Editor: Solomon
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [Poetical.] Lament, deplore, mourn, bemoan, weep for, grieve for.
v. n. Grieve, mourn, make lamentation.
Inputed by Cherie
Definition
v.i. to make a low sound of grief or pain: to lament audibly.—v.t. to lament.—n. a low sound of grief or pain: audible expression of pain.—adj. Moan′ful expressing sorrow: lamentable.—adv. Moan′fully with lamentation.
Edited by Gail
Examples
- The conversation was here interrupted by a moan from the sick woman. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- What now, after pausing a momentyour poor sister is gone to her own room, I suppose, to moan by herself. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- Moan, and groan, and look at me! Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- It was amazing through how many hours at a time she would remain beside him, in a crouching attitude, attentive to his slightest moan. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Whereat Mr Twemlow leaned his innocent head upon his hand, and moaned a little moan of distress and disgrace. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Moan for what you made him; not for your love. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- While he stood a sound between a breathing and a moan suddenly reached his ears. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Farther and farther toward the ground they inclined, and still there was no sound save the deep and awesome moaning of the wind. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Calypso sighing for Ulysses, observed Crispin, without altering his position; though I dare say it is only the wind moaning through the ropes. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- Making the same low, dreary, wretched moaning in her shawl, she went away. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Having read it twice by a great effort, he turns it down so that it shall not be seen and lies moaning. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- We carried her away from the water to where there were some dry stones, and there laid her down, crying and moaning. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- She would follow him out of the room and put her hand on his arm moaning out, Save my boy. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- I lifted up the leaden hand, and held it to my heart; and all the world seemed death and silence, broken only by his mother's moaning. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Whereat Mr Twemlow leaned his innocent head upon his hand, and moaned a little moan of distress and disgrace. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- He bit his arm and moaned, Oh mama mia, mama Mia, then, Dio te salve, Maria. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- The carriage drove up; her father relieved Graham; but in the exchange from one bearer to another she was hurt, and moaned again. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Briggs seized it mechanically, gasped it down convulsively, moaned a little, and began to play with the chicken on her plate. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- The creature moaned feebly when I looked at it and called to it, but never stirred. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- The mother had moaned in her sleep and moved. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- I can't think--I can't think, she moaned, and leaned her head against the rattling side of the cab. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- O the long, long night, with the moans of the poor wife! Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- I saw him do it; and the last that I heard was her moans and screams, when I was tied to his horse's neck, to be carried off to his place. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- His brothers then, and friends, the snowy bones, Gather'd into an urn of gold, still pouring out their moans. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- With low moans, she sat cuddling the body to her; nor did Kerchak attempt to molest her. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- He used to nod many times to her and smile when she came in, and utter inarticulate deprecatory moans when she was going away. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- She rises up, hurries to and fro, flings herself down again, and rocks and moans. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
Editor: Lois