wail
pronunciation
How to pronounce wail in British English:
UK [weɪl]
How to pronounce wail in American English:
US [wel]
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- Noun:
- a cry of sorrow and grief
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- Verb:
- emit long loud cries
- cry weakly or softly
Word Origin
- wail (v.)
- c. 1300 (intransitive); mid-14c. (transitive), from Old Norse væla "to lament," from væ "woe" (see woe). Of jazz musicians, "to play very well," attested from 1955, American English slang (wailing "excellent" is attested from 1954). Related: Wailed; wailer.
- wail (n.)
- c. 1300; see wail (v.).
Antonym
Example
- 1. 2009 Will begin with a wail , and then get worse .
- 2. Not far away other earthquake survivors wail in agony in a makeshift hospital .
- 3. The baby , following more innate instincts , starts to wail .
- 4. Why , the experts wail , are so many people wasting their lives solving meaningless puzzles in virtual worlds ?
- 5. Though humans appear physiologically immune to his keening wail ( if barely ) , we have heard tales of the cranial cavities of alien species being destroyed after mere seconds of contact with his vocalisations .