whiny

adjective

ˈ(h)wī-nē

variants or less commonly whiney

whinier; whiniest

Synonyms of whiny next

: characterized by whining:

: having a high-pitched, shrill or plaintive quality

a whiny voice

"So What'cha Want," despite its jittery organ, whiny guitar, and distorted vocals, turned out to be one of the least predictable-sounding hit singles of recent years.—

Alan Light

: characterized by or given to complaining

whiny children

Their whiny, even beggarly tone was hardly the supremely confident sound of the American Century.—

Sidney Blumenthal

… offering little more than a whiny list of grievances …—

Linda Chavez

In this conversational memoir, Nancy comes across as honest, if a little whiny, and a major-league worrier.—

Ilene Cooper

whininess noun

A few years ago, thirtysomething was widely reviled for encouraging the yuppie ethos of materialism and whininess. —

Mark Harris

… I heard something, a certain whininess in his voice, maybe, that led me to conclude that I wasn't about to get a pasting … —

Nick Hornby

Examples of whiny in a Sentence

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.

His breath control is lacking, his Lin-Manuel-esque flow is whiny, and the lyrics have nothing to do with the moment. —

Emma Soren, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2024 Some students concede this can sound whiny, and that they can be pushy. —

Gary Robbins, The Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2024 The long-term teacher can’t pretend to care about his whiny students anymore and uses a seemingly routine parent’s complaint as an excuse to get canned. —

Ben Travers, IndieWire, 11 Oct. 2024 In defense of whiny Joey King, that does seem like a lot. —

Emma Specter, Vogue, 12 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for whiny