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
That was far larger than the closest polls — or the senator’s increasingly plaintive late-campaign messages — had suggested.
—
Saul Elbein, The Hill, 6 Nov. 2024
Santa Cruz’s tiny agonies manage a delicate balance between stately, shimmering guitar lines and plaintive synthesizer accompaniment while Bazan sings with a gusto that bests his finest performances.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2024
Stunted by the work of its actors, this plaintive vision of the Aymara people remains at a remove, stronger as a provocation on paper than as a morality tale on the screen.
—Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 27 Nov. 2024
The unheard melody is unmistakably a plaintive one.
—April White, JSTOR Daily, 18 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for plaintive
Saul Elbein, The Hill, 6 Nov. 2024
Santa Cruz’s tiny agonies manage a delicate balance between stately, shimmering guitar lines and plaintive synthesizer accompaniment while Bazan sings with a gusto that bests his finest performances.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2024
Stunted by the work of its actors, this plaintive vision of the Aymara people remains at a remove, stronger as a provocation on paper than as a morality tale on the screen.
—Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 27 Nov. 2024
The unheard melody is unmistakably a plaintive one.
—April White, JSTOR Daily, 18 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for plaintive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaintive
Adjective
-
Brown’s sound design mixes Sousa-like military fanfares with mournful underscoring for Lavinia’s tragedy, neither of which has much to do with Kidwell’s preshow music.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Feb. 2025
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Chaos quickly unfolds when the bickering, different-strokes twins find the calamitous heirloom—although Perkins keeps the first act mostly mournful, as the boys struggle with the onslaught of death around them.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2025
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.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
-
Their son Donny attended to all of the funeral arrangements with the help of his wife Jan, a nurse, and his daughters Andrea and Alicia.—
Phil Potempa,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
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Soon after the crash, West Marin Community Services co-organized an online fundraiser to assist Romo Zúñiga’s family with the funeral and medical expenses.—
Cameron Macdonald,
The Mercury News,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Boldt hired 300 workers to construct the six-story, 120-room castle outfitted with a drawbridge and tower, but when Louise died suddenly in 1904, the heartbroken Boldt halted construction and never returned to the island.—
Gulnaz Khan,
AFAR Media,
13 Feb. 2025
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There are similar Valentine’s Day opportunities geared toward the heartbroken.—
Megan Forrester,
ABC News,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The bitter exchange was unlike any other in the Oval Office in modern times. 13:43 With Ukraine's future in the balance, a high-stakes meeting on Friday between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy devolved into a shouting match.—
Alexandra Hutzler,
ABC News,
28 Feb. 2025
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But there are some whiskey fans who crave high-proof spirits the way others will seek out intensely hoppy beer or extremely bitter amaro: the more extreme, the better, full stop.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
27 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plaintive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintive. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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