wailed; wailing; wails
1
: to express sorrow audibly : lament
2
: to make a sound suggestive of a mournful cry
3
: to express dissatisfaction plaintively : complain
1
: to say or express plaintively
wailed that her cake was ruined
2
archaic
: bewail
Synonyms
Examples of wail in a Sentence
Verb
The child started wailing after she stumbled and fell.
A saxophone wailed in the background.
“No! I don't want to go!” he wailed.
She wailed that the vacation was ruined.
Noun
the wail of a siren
a prolonged wail arose from every corner of the city as the victims of the earthquake were unearthed from the rubble
Recent Examples on the Web
Mars Salazar, Austin American-Statesman, 15 Nov. 2024
Sirens wailed in Israel warning of incoming fire from Lebanon; the military said dozens of projectiles were launched.
—Adam Schreck and Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2024
Monisha Rajesh, Travel + Leisure, 20 Oct. 2024
Everything is quiet except the torturous, repetitive wail of the caller.
—Britta Lokting, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for wail 
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.
Verb
With every command the singer crooned into the mic, his guitar wailed right back.
—Mars Salazar, Austin American-Statesman, 15 Nov. 2024
Sirens wailed in Israel warning of incoming fire from Lebanon; the military said dozens of projectiles were launched.
—Adam Schreck and Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2024
Noun
Over the wail of the train’s brakes, a guitarist burst into song, his voice clear and mellow.
—Monisha Rajesh, Travel + Leisure, 20 Oct. 2024
Everything is quiet except the torturous, repetitive wail of the caller.
—Britta Lokting, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for wail
Articles Related to wail
Dictionary Entries Near wail
Cite this Entry
“Wail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wail. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share