plaintively
4
6.7
- adverb
- /ˈpleɪntɪvli/
:
lamentablemente
- "But what are we to do?" he asked plaintively, horrified by this disaster.
- asked plaintively
- said plaintively
- looks plaintively
Examples
-
"There may not be another time," said the florist and looked at her plaintively.
Fiction book (1995) -
"I didn't think you'd hold my being late against me," he said plaintively.
Fiction book (1992) -
"Why are we in gravity again?" he asked plaintively, looking up at her.
Fiction book (1991) -
"Maybe one day we'll both be angels when we die," Joe said plaintively.
Academic text (2009) -
"Rick, are you going to stand there all day holding that coffee pot?" Dan said plaintively.
Fiction book (2001) -
"I haven't signed up, and it's full for a week!" she said plaintively.
Fiction book (1993) -
"I don't think you realize," she complained plaintively, "how hard this is for me."
Academic text (2011) -
"What are we going to do," John Povey asked somewhat plaintively in this space in October 1990, "about contemporary African art?"
Academic text (1993) -
Alice said plaintively, "My father would be fifty-five if he weren't dead."
Fiction book (1994) -
"Why, Daddy?" she asked plaintively, her eyes searching my face for hints of a joke.
Synonyms
53
1.0
In an unhappy way because you feel upset
9
3.2
With tears to show that someone feels sad
6
5.8
In a sad, quiet way that shows someone is unhappy
5
7.0
In a way that makes you feel moved or very sad
4
4.7
In a sad way that shows grief
4
5.1
In a way that makes people feel pity and want to help
3
4.8
In a gloomy way that makes people feel sad or hopeless
2
6.5
In a sad, disappointed way
1
4.6
In a sad way that shows a person is sorry
1
7.2
In a sad way that shows you are unhappy
1
7.1
In a sad way that makes people feel sorry
1
5.3
In a way that shows you feel sorry for someone
1
7.2
So sad that nothing can comfort them
1
8.5
In a very sad way that shows no comfort or hope
1
7.5
In a way that shows great loneliness and sadness
In a very sad, gloomy way
In a sad and thoughtful way
In a way that shows tears and deep sadness
In a way that shows someone is crying
In a very sad way
In a very sad, quiet way as if someone has died
Antonyms
How Sad
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Plaintively comes from an old root that meant 'to lament' or 'to complain', and it is related to the English verb complain. So, to speak plaintively is to speak in a sad, complaining way, which is why we use it for voices or sounds that seem unhappy.