wail (for)

verb

Definition of wail (for)next
as in to mourn
to feel or express sorrow for her grandfather asked her not to wail for him, saying that he had had a good life and was at peace

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wail (for)
  1. mourn
  2. lament
  3. regret
Verb
  • The town was mourning a child who had recently died by suicide, and the jumpers passed the funeral in the streets.
    — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • William Jewell College said the school and Liberty, Missouri, community were mourning Barnett's death.
    — Shafiq Najib, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of mourn
Verb
  • The glories of some former age may be lamented, and our sympathies directed to parties judged righteous or wronged.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Other Big Bird followers lamented the end of summer, which comes next month.
    — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of lament
Verb
  • Gray’s challenge in such circumstances is to ensure that Blackstone’s pro-AI convictions don’t harden into a consensus his firm will regret if conditions change.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Knight, 61, warned that prosecutors and defense attorneys alike would regret forcing him to appear in court.
    — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of regret
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

wailers
wail (for)
wailfully
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wail (for).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wail%20%28for%29. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of dissonant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All