as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
the puppy's plaintive expression after we put the toy away was rather amusing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plaintive
The electric version starts the same, but that plaintive wail sounds more like a call to mischief.
—
Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
Her plaintive denials on screen are robbed of any credibility by an inescapable sense of overwhelming resentment.
—Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
In a few short years, my plaintive, pleading tone would seem awkward and apologetic, compared to the confrontational calls on campuses for a free Palestine from the river to the sea, or Kneecap’s concert criticisms.
—Philip Metres
august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
His voice is very high and plaintive.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for plaintive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaintive
Adjective
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This internal struggle is portrayed with raw honesty, focusing on the darker, mournful corners of humanity that inspired the record’s lyrics.—
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Other tracks channel the mournful energy of the most political ’70s dub.—
Adjective
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And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Adjective
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The page so far has raised over $30,000 in donations, with a goal of $35,000 to cover funeral costs and to support Kaleigh and Christopher’s four children.—
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The Avila family has also started a GoFundMe to help pay for the funeral and medical bills for Perla.—
Adjective
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After Anna disappeared, Alice was heartbroken.—
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A day after the shooting, Chez’s heartbroken parents proclaimed at a press conference outside the 101st Precinct stationhouse in Far Rockaway that their son posed no threat.—
Adjective
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Sitting opposite an old people’s home in a residential corner of Paris’ 14th arrondissement, La Santé’s unassuming presence is only given away by the occasional wailing siren as prisoners are transported to and from the site.—
Adjective
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He was chosen as commissioner in October 1989 over New Orleans general manager Jim Finks after a bitter fight highlighting the differences between the NFL's old guard and newer owners.—
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Arugula Arugula is an aromatic, slightly bitter leafy green.—
Cite this Entry
“Plaintive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintive. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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