Trivia Time

Which song is a lament?

Test Your Knowledge

lament

American  

[luh-ment] / ləˈmɛnt /

verb (used with object)

• laments,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lamented,
  past participle,  past
• lamenting
  present participle

1. 

   to feel or express sorrow or regret for.

   to lament his absence.

   Synonyms:

   deplore, bemoan, bewail

2. to mourn for or over.

   Synonyms:

   deplore, bemoan, bewail

---

verb (used without object)

• laments,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lamented,
  past participle,  past
• lamenting
  present participle

1. to feel, show, or express grief, sorrow, or regret.

   Synonyms:

   weep, grieve

2. to mourn deeply.

   Synonyms:

   weep, grieve

noun

• laments
  plural

1. an expression of grief or sorrow.

   Synonyms:

   moan, lamentation

2. a formal expression of sorrow or mourning, especially in verse or song; an elegy or dirge.

   Synonyms:

   threnody, monody

lament British  

/ ləˈmɛnt /

verb

1. to feel or express sorrow, remorse, or regret (for or over)

---

noun

1. an expression of sorrow

2. a poem or song in which a death is lamented

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lamenter
  noun
• lamentingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• laments
  plural

Participles

• lamenting
  present
• lamented
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• lament
  simple
• laments
  simple
• have lamented
  perfect
• has lamented
  perfect
• am lamenting
  progressive
• are lamenting
  progressive
• is lamenting
  progressive
• have been lamenting
  perfect progressive
• has been lamenting
  perfect progressive

Past

• lamented
  simple
• had lamented
  perfect
• was lamenting
  progressive
• were lamenting
  progressive
• had been lamenting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will lament
  simple
• will have lamented
  perfect
• will be lamenting
  progressive
• will have been lamenting
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of lament

First recorded in 1520–30; (noun) from Latin lāmentum “plaint”; (verb) from Latin lāmentārī, derivative of lāmentum

---

Explanation

If you are really upset or sorry about something, you might lament it. A lament is full of regret and grief. If you lament something, then you feel sorry about it. You could lament a mistake you made, or you could lament a horrible thing that happened to a friend. Also, a lament is an expression of grief. So if you keep saying how sorry you are about something, someone could say, "Enough of your laments!" There's also an old literary form called "a lament," which expresses feelings of loss in a long dramatic poem.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lament laments lamented lamenting

Hydroelectric dams have proliferated across Southeast Asia in recent years, but production drops off in the dry season and critics lament the ecological impacts.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

Former Treasury officials lament: "There is always a reason for procrastination."

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Dust Bowl troubadour Woody Guthrie, who’d be moving to California in a few years, wrote a lament to “Los Angeles New Year’s Flood.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

While some lament the decline of suits and ties, others are relieved to ditch the starchy collars and pantyhose.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

She hadn’t heard Mamma say much about Stanford besides to lament the price tag of a private school education.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Hutchins is pessimistic about staving off the ban and laments what it would mean for the city's famed French restaurants.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Theirs is one of many “ethno-bubbles” Mr. Theroux encounters in Canada and quietly laments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

McVay laments, usually lightheartedly, the loss of staff members that have ascended to become head coaches.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

But in Torkham, Sarwar's sister-in-law Zarina laments the precarious future they face: "We have no resources to start a business or earn a living, and we don't even own a tent to live in".

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

“Occasionally you’ll get a client who thinks he’s bought a guaranteed ticket to the summit,” laments Peter Athans, a highly respected guide who’s made eleven trips to Everest and reached the top four times.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

But the entries to Eurovision Asia -- which unlike the original is organised by commercial broadcasters -- are mostly love songs, lamented Dean Vuletic, an author and expert on Eurovision.

From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026

Yet diplomats lamented what they said was a lack of coordination close to home, despite a long-standing GCC mutual defense agreement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

People I spoke with lamented a childhood filled with academic stress: cram school tutoring, studying well into the night and China’s make-or-break gaokao university entrance examination.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

So many talented players of his generation lamented the presence of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, believing the 'Big Three' to be a blockade preventing them from becoming a Grand Slam champion.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

I named the pimple Peter and lamented to everyone who would listen about Peter's poor timing, with picture day just around the corner.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Another used A.I. to animate a photo of Walters, the digital replica lamenting his sentence of “death by incarceration.”

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Some in Labour were unhappy when Lennon didn't make the ballot for this contesting, lamenting a lack of breadth in the contest.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

He then sent out the names of the districts being targeted, quietly lamenting a few typos.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

I gave the staff at each of them my sob story, lamenting over my lost wedding dress.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Peter Tatakis was lamenting the fact that he would never have a widow to mourn his death.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• bemoan
• deplore
• regret

---