moan of frustration
- noun
- /moʊn əv frʌsˈtreɪʃən/
:
gemido de frustración
- She lets out a little moan of frustration.
Examples
-
Then he left, amid moans of frustration and threats, as there always were such threats, to sue Amtrak.
Fiction book (2002) -
After failing the exam, he let out a loud moan of frustration.
-
(a whispered moan of frustration)
Fiction book (1991) -
When his favorite team lost, she expressed a moan of frustration at the television.
-
The workers shared a collective moan of frustration over the delays in their project.
Synonyms
233
1.9
A low unhappy sound showing pain, discomfort or dislike
68
3.7
A low, soft cry showing pain or sadness
19
3.2
A quiet complaint that shows someone is unhappy
9
5.9
A quiet complaint said softly by people who disagree
3
4.7
A quiet complaint spoken in a low voice
A deep sound people make when they are annoyed or disappointed
Antonyms
How Expressive
Surface Forms
Morphology
moan + of + frustration
The meaning is directly compositional: 'moan' (a prolonged low vocal sound) combined with 'of' linking to 'frustration' (a feeling of annoyance) yields a low sound expressing annoyance. This is a common, cross-linguistic noun + of + cause pattern in English, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Moan of frustration comes from the clear image of someone making a low, unhappy sound—a moan—when they are stuck or cannot get something to work, and that sound shows their frustration, so the phrase means 'a low sound showing annoyance or disappointment'.