Wailing
//ˈweɪlɪŋ// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A loud drawn out scream or howl.
"'For as soon as I heard Tewkesbury tell of screams and wailings in the air, and no one to be seen,' said Elzevir, 'I guessed that some poor soul had got shut in the vault, and was there crying for his life."
- 2 loud cries made while weeping wordnet
Verb
- 1 present participle and gerund of wail form-of, gerund, participle, present
"Craig ran off wailing because his friend pulled a prank on him."
Adjective
- 1 vocally expressing grief or sorrow or resembling such expression wordnet
Example
More examples"In the Lithuanian township of Veisiejai, he was present at the death of a little girl. A raging fever consumed her. The unhappy mother almost went crazy with sorrow. For months afterwards he would hear her continual tears and wailing. He decided to leave general practice and to specialize as an oculist."
Etymology
From wail + -ing.
Related phrases
More for "wailing"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.