repine

[ ri-pahyn ]

verb (used without object)

, re·pined, re·pin·ing.

1. to be fretfully discontented; fret; complain.

repine

/ rɪˈpaɪn /

verb

1. intr to be fretful or low-spirited through discontent

Other Words From

• re·piner noun
• unre·pined adjective
• unre·pining adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of repine¹

First recorded in 1520–30; re- + pine ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of repine¹

C16: from re- + pine ²

Example Sentences

She had not much time for repining, however, for the three young girls were busily employed in ‘having a good time’.

From Literature

I will not pause either to accuse or repine.

From Literature

“But the wife of Mr. Darcy must have such extraordinary sources of happiness necessarily attached to her situation, that she could, upon the whole, have no cause to repine.”

From Literature

Freeman called Lee “the Southern Arthur” who “accepted fame without vanity and defeat without repining.”

From Washington Post

Yet I have no fears now: what is done is done, there can be no repining.

From Literature

Related Words

• carp
• complain
• fret
• gripe
• grumble