plaintive

CEFRC1

/ˈpleɪntɪv/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Sounding sad and full of sorrow.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Sounding sorrowful, mournful or melancholic.

Examples

  • He accompanies his songs with plaintive chords played on a poor-quality zither.

  • The plaintive melody broke her heart.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
2
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

More examples

In context

  • I can see by your plaintive smile something is wrong, so spill it.

  • a typically plaintive song from Radiohead

  • When my wife and I heard a plaintive whinny from our laundry room the other day, we knew that our old dryer had cycled its last load.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The orphaned child let out a blank whimper that touched everyone's heart.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English pleintif, plentyff, from Old French pleintif (“aggrieved, lamenting”) (whence modern French plaintif), from plainte (“lament, complaint”); see plaint. Doublet of plaintiff.