whinge

[ winj, hwinj ]

verb (used without object)

, British and Australian Informal.

, whinged, whing·ing.

1. to complain; whine.

whinge

/ wɪndʒ /

verb

1. to cry in a fretful way
2. to complain

noun

1. a complaint

Derived Forms

• ˈwhinger, noun
• ˈwhingeing, nounadjective

Other Words From

• whing·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of whinge¹

First recorded before 1150; dialectal Scots, North England, earlier Scots quhynge, Old English hwinsian (not recorded in Middle English ); cognate with Old High German winsōn ( German winseln ); derivative of Germanic base of whine

Word History and Origins

Origin of whinge¹

from a Northern variant of Old English hwinsian to whine; related to Old High German winsan, winisan, whence Middle High German winsen

Example Sentences

People whinging in front of courthouses about “personal liberties” that actually haven’t existed since the 1970s should have been told to kick rocks.

From The Daily Beast

You crossed her last wish in death and yet you sulk with me because I don't whinge like some hired mute from Lalouette's.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Whinge

What does whinge mean?

Whinge means to complain or whine.

Whinge is primarily used in the U.K. and Australia.

Like whine, whinge can mean to make a whining noise (often as part of complaining), or to complain with such a tone, or simply to complain in a way that’s considered annoying. When you say that someone’s whinging, you’re criticizing them because they’re complaining in an annoying way, especially about something minor.

Whinge can also be used as a noun referring to a complaint, but this use is much less common than its verb sense.

The variant spelling winge is primarily used in Australia.

Example: John’s mother told him not to whinge about having to spend time with his relatives.

Where does whinge come from?

The first records of the word whinge come from before 1150. The word comes from the Old English word hwinsian, meaning “to whine” (the word whine is related).

The word whinge can indicate that such complaining is being done in a whiny voice, but more often it simply implies that the complaining is unnecessary or too frequent. The word whinge is often followed by the word about and the thing being complained about, as in Please stop whinging about having to go to work—I wish I had a job!

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to whinge?

• winge (variant spelling)
• whinging (continuous tense verb, noun)
• whinger (noun)

What are some synonyms for whinge?

• whine
• complain
• moan
• complaint (when whinge is used as a noun)

What are some words that share a root or word element with whinge? 

 

• whine
• whiny

What are some words that often get used in discussing whinge?

• about
• cry
• fuss
• grumble

How is whinge used in real life?

Whinge is informal. It’s always used negatively.

Now every time a columnist whinges about bike lanes, we have a handy metric to add context. We have 42km of lanes and shared-use paths vs. 11,091km of roads, alleys, highways and freeways.

That's 0.37 per cent. https://t.co/QkIzZkvbRU

— Tim Querengesser (@timquerengesser) December 28, 2019

I know it sucks for you guys and I do feel for you all. If I stopped whinging about everything because someone has it worse than me I would never have anything to tweet about lol

— FreoLou⚓♏ (@FreoLou) August 18, 2020

I don't like VAR. I also get annoyed with " experts" who complain about ref's, demand more VAR then whinge about it ruining the game.

— les h matthews (@leshmatthews) August 18, 2020

 

 

Try using whinge!

Is whinge used correctly in the following sentence?

It’s no use sitting there whinging—get up and do something about it!