keening 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of keeningnext
as in wailing

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

keening

2 of 2

verb

present participle of keen
1
as in complaining
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely victims of the disaster have been keening for weeks about the slowness of governmental aid

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in howling
to make a long loud mournful sound mourners keening for the victims of the bombing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for keening
  1. complaining
  2. howling
  3. weeping
  4. whining
  5. sentimental
  6. mawkish
Verb
  • Jones himself did not attend court this week but used his show to continue complaining about the prospect of The Onion wresting control of his once lucrative conspiracy theory factory.
    Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Alabama complaining about having to schedule easier nonconference opponents in the future for a better shot at making the College Football Playoff is quite amusing.
    Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of complaining
Verb
  • This includes destructive behavior such as chewing and destroying furniture as well as things like howling and barking.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Their eyes will often dart around, and their brain is active, and the signs include violent limb movements, howling, barking, growling, and even biting.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of howling
Adjective
  • And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.
    David Mamet, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022
  • The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.
    Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021
Definition of weeping
Verb
  • Han then used a tuning fork that was set to the tone that is produced by a flies’ whining wings.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 4 Dec. 2024
  • As the Dodgers officially welcomed their latest gazillionaire pitcher to a remodeling Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, the churning of the bulldozers in the infield was momentarily drowned out by the whining around the baseball world.
    Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024
Definition of whining
Adjective
  • John Lennon's sons Sean Ono Lennon and Julian Lennon recently spent some time together in a sentimental place.
    Gil Macias, People.com, 15 Dec. 2024
  • Although perceived as a vindictive album, Reputation is also a sentimental one, with its fair share of love songs.
    Lolita Mang, Vogue, 13 Dec. 2024
Definition of sentimental
Adjective
  • Co-directed with Jewish Israeli filmmaker Yaron Shani, the movie paints a subtle picture of a society split along fissures religious, political, cultural, and economic, without ever chiding his characters or dipping into mawkish sentimentality.
    Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Sep. 2024
  • And the hints for today’s groups are: Yellow group — leader or main thing Green group — these can be prickly Blue group — mawkish movies, perhaps Purple group — these have a limit, some might say What Are Today’s Connections Groups?
    Kris Holt, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2024
Definition of mawkish
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near keening

keened

keening

keenly

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Cite this Entry

“Keening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keening. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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Britannica English: Translation of keening for Arabic Speakers

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