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plaintive

American  
[pleyn-tiv] / ˈpleɪn tɪv /

adjective

  1. expressing sorrow or melancholy; mournful.

    a plaintive melody.
    Synonyms:
    sad, sorrowful, wistful
    Antonyms:
    joyful, happy
plaintive British  
/ ˈpleɪntɪv /

adjective

  1. expressing melancholy; mournful

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • plaintively adverb
  • plaintiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of plaintive

First recorded in 1350–1400; plaint + -ive; replacing Middle English plaintif, from Middle French

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.