lamentation

American  

[lam-uhn-tey-shuhn] / ˌlæm ənˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of lamenting or expressing grief.

2. a lament.

3. (used with a singular verb) Lamentations, a book of the Bible, traditionally ascribed to Jeremiah. Lam.

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lamentation British  

/ ˌlæmɛnˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. a lament; expression of sorrow

2. the act of lamenting

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Etymology

Origin of lamentation

First recorded in 1325–75; from Middle French lamentacion and Latin lāmentātiōn- (stem of lāmentātiō ), equivalent to lāmentāt(us) (past participle of lāmentārī ) + -iōn- verbal noun suffix; see lament, -ion;

Explanation

Lamentation usually occurs when someone dies or a tragedy occurs. At the funeral, you could hardly hear the speaker above the wails of lamentation. From the Latin lamenta, meaning “weeping” or “wailing,” lamentation means more than just shedding a few tears. Lamentation is when grief pours out. If you lose a nice pencil that's no cause for lamentation, but if you lose all your money in a stock market crash, that might be. If someone tells you you'll be late to your own funeral, you can always say: “At least I'll get to enjoy the lamentation!”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lamentation

“Craftland” may be read as a mild and easily digested tour of a vanished civilization, a sort of upbeat lamentation, and surely that response would be justified.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025

Its common name is weeping fig, and in these flayed skins the lamentation resonates.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2024

"There is this sentence from the bible, from David's lamentation, saying 'How heroes fell'. And actually, the question now turns to instead of 'How heroes fell?', to 'For what?'," 63-year-old lawyer David Gilat told Reuters.

From Reuters ● Apr. 22, 2023

There’s a playful romp about high-stakes love alongside Billy Strings, and a country lamentation for small-town settling with Charlie Starr, of the Southern rock band Blackberry Smoke.

From New York Times ● Feb. 28, 2023

The path down to it leads to where Acheron, the river of woe, pours into Cocytus, the river of lamentation.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton