1
: having a loud reverberating sound
a plangent roar
2
: having an expressive and especially plaintive quality
plangent lyrics
plangently adverb

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Plangent adds power to our poetry and prose: the pounding of waves, the beat of wings, the tolling of a bell, the throbbing of the human heart, a lover’s knocking at the door—all have been described as plangent. The word plangent traces back to the Latin verb plangere, which has two meanings. The first of those meanings, “to strike or beat,” was sometimes used by Latin speakers in reference to striking one’s breast in grief. This led to the verb’s second meaning, “to lament.” The sense division carried over to the Latin adjective plangens and then into English, giving us two distinct meanings of plangent: “pounding” (as in “the plangent roar of waves”) and “expressive of woe, grief, or melancholy.” Like its synonym plaintive, plangent is often used to describe sounds, from bittersweet melodies to the wails of mourners, evoking deep and heartfelt sadness.

Examples of plangent in a Sentence

a plangent, haunting song about a long-ago love plangent organ music filled the church
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
That deft level of craft is maintained throughout, while the aching musical bed by contemporary composer Nico Muhly adds just the right tone of plangent despair tinged with hope. Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 The composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, that warhorse of English traditionalism, is mentioned six times, and his plangent music—invoking a lost, idyllic England; a greener, more pleasant land—could easily be the novel’s soundtrack. Charles McGrath, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin plangent-, plangens, present participle of plangere to strike, lament — more at plaint

First Known Use

1666, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of plangent was in 1666

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Cite this Entry

“Plangent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plangent. Accessed 16 Mar. 2025.

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