plaintive
pronunciation
How to pronounce plaintive in British English:
UK [ˈpleɪntɪv]
How to pronounce plaintive in American English:
US [ˈplentɪv]
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- Adjective:
- expressing sorrow
Word Origin
- plaintive
- plaintive: see plague
- plaintive (adj.)
- late 14c., "lamenting," from Old French plaintif "complaining; wretched, miserable," from plainte (see plaint). Sense of "mournful, sad" first recorded 1570s. Related: Plaintively; plaintiveness.
Example
- 1. Whiffs of panic and plaintive cries for more intervention from the federal reserve underscored the market 's suddenly fragile sentiment on thursday .