Wail
[weɪl] or [wel]
Definition
(v. t.) To choose; to select.
(v. t.) To lament; to bewail; to grieve over; as, to wail one's death.
(v. i.) To express sorrow audibly; to make mournful outcry; to weep.
(n.) Loud weeping; violent lamentation; wailing.
Typed by Billie
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. Lament, moan, bemoan, bewail, deplore, mourn over, grieve for (audibly).
v. n. Moan, lament, cry.
n. Moan, lamentation, complaint, plaint, lament, wailing, cry.
Edited by Benson
Definition
v.i. to lament or sorrow audibly.—v.t. to bemoan: to grieve over.—n. a cry of woe: loud weeping.—n. Wail′er.—adj. Wail′ful sorrowful mournful.—n. Wail′ing.—adv. Wail′ingly.
Editor: Simon
Unserious Contents or Definition
A wail falling upon your ear while in the midst of a dream, brings fearful news of disaster and woe. For a young woman to hear a wail, foretells that she will be deserted and left alone in distress, and perchance disgrace. See Weeping.
Inputed by Billy
Examples
- Little Georgette still piped her plaintive wail, appealing to me by her familiar termMinnie, Minnie, me very poorly! Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- The droning sound swelled louder upon our ears until it became one long, deep wail of distress. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Therefore is it that the wail over a kind master is loud and long, as well it may be. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Uncle, after making one more pause, blew a dismal wail and went on again. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Before the door, were three tall poplar trees, which made it very dark within; and the wind moaned through them with a dismal wail. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- And a little seat in fwont, with an iwon wail, for the dwiver,' added his Lordship. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- But, gathering herself together, she replied: 'Oh--better dance than wail, certainly. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Jo laughed, Meg scolded, Beth implored, and Amy wailed because she couldn't remember how much nine times twelve was. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Nettie Struther wailed with a start of recollection. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- On every hand was heard the complaints of women, the wailing of children, and the cries of men. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- I had scarcely arrived at the total when a seventh was heard, as in the region of air, wailing dolefully. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Not a man was left behind but the clerk--the poor old clerk standing on the flat tombstone sobbing and wailing over the church. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- The house was still as death, and nothing but the wailing of the wind broke the deep hush. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Pile dirge on dirge; rouse the funereal chords; let the air ring with dire wailing; let wild discord rush on the wings of the wind! Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Instantly there was wailing and gnashing of teeth in the camp. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- But now he heard, outside, the sounds of many voices, and long mournful howls, and mighty wailing. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- His sleep was broken by infant wails and visions of a phantom figure pacing noiselessly to and fro in the watches of the night. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
Edited by Estelle