wail
[verb]
Synonyms:
- cry, bawl, grieve, howl, lament, weep, yowl
[noun]
Synonyms:
- cry, complaint, howl, lament, moan, weeping, yowl

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Related Idioms: make an outcry

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English Thesaurus: cry, cry your eyes out, be in tears, be close to tears, weep, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

wail /weɪl/ verb
[Date: 1200-1300; Origin: From a Scandinavian language]

1. [transitive] to say something in a loud, sad, and complaining way:
‘But what shall I do?’ Bernard wailed.

2. [intransitive] to cry out with a long high sound, especially because you are very sad or in pain:
Somewhere behind them a child began to wail.

3. [intransitive] to make a long high sound:
The wind wailed in the chimney.
—wail noun [countable]:
the wail of police sirens

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

wail
noun
ADJ. loud | high, high-pitched | banshee | distant We could just hear the distant wail of a siren.
VERB + WAIL give, let out | hear
PREP. with a ~ With a wail he threw himself on the bed and buried his face in the pillow.
~ of She gave a wail of anguish.
 ⇒ Note at SOUND

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

wail
verb
ADV. almost | helplessly
VERB + WAIL begin to | hear sb
PREP. for wailing for her dead husband
with She wailed with despair.
PHRASES weeping and wailing A crowd of women followed the coffin, weeping and wailing.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cry to produce tears from your eyes:
Don’t cry – everything will be all right!
Men aren’t supposed to cry.
cry your eyes out especially spoken to cry a lot and for a long time:
I cried my eyes out when I watched ‘Titanic’.
be in tears to be crying:
By the end of his story, we were all in tears.
be close to tears to be almost crying:
You could see that she was close to tears.
weep literary to cry, especially for a long time:
His mother put her head on the table and wept.
sob to cry, taking sudden loud breaths:
I could hear someone sobbing in the next room.
wail /weɪl/ to cry very loudly in a high voice:
The baby started wailing for its mother.
whimper /ˈwɪmpə $ -ər/ to cry quietly and weakly:
She began rocking to and fro, whimpering softly.
hold/fight back the tears to make a big effort not to cry:
She told her story, struggling to hold back the tears.
your eyes water if your eyes water, they have tears in them, for example because of smoke, wind, or when you are cutting onions:
The onions were making my eyes water.
burst into tears to suddenly start crying:
The man shouted at her and she burst into tears.
break down to start crying after trying hard not to cry, especially when talking about something very upsetting:
He broke down and begged for forgiveness.
When I saw what had happened to him, I just broke down and cried.
a cry of pain/despair/delight etc
A rock was loose and he fell with a sharp cry of surprise.
a cry escapes somebody/sb’s lips
A cry escaped her lips as he tightened his grip on her wrist.
give a cry
The woman looked up and gave a cry of fear.
let out/utter a cry
Seeing the fields and mountains, she let out a cry of delight.
a small/little cry
The child gave a small cry and burst into tears.
a loud cry
a loud cry of pain
a great cry literary (=a loud cry)
With a great cry they charged into battle.
a sharp cry (=loud, short, and sudden)
He gave a sharp cry of pain.
a low cry (=not loud or high)
I heard a long, low cry of despair.
a strangled/stifled cry (=that stops before it is finished)
The girl gave a stifled cry of disappointment.
a muffled cry (=that cannot be heard clearly)
I thought I heard a muffled cry from somewhere in the building.
an anguished/agonised cry (=full of distress)
She gave an anguished cry, calling his name.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲