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Glite Dictionary
🙍 A weak complainer 😢 Whining weakly 🐶 A weak cry
puling

puling

9.8
Crying or complaining in a weak, childish way
  • adjective
  • /ˈpjuːlɪŋ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : lloriqueante
  • Her puling tone made it hard for anyone to take her seriously.

Examples

  • The puling child would not stop complaining about the cold.

  • He grew tired of his friend's puling complaints about every minor inconvenience.

  • Stop that puling right now!

  • The puling child annoyed everyone in the room.

  • The puling child cried loudly when his toy was taken away.

  • Everyone found his puling about the situation to be quite annoying.

  • She spoke in a puling voice that made her sound like a spoiled brat.

Synonyms

to whine
vspuling
  • Informal
211 2.8

To complain in a high, annoying voice

is weaker and more childlike in complaint rather than merely irritating
to whimper
vspuling
69 3.3

To make a low, soft cry because of pain or fear

is more about childish or feeble whining than pain signals
to bleat
vspuling
3 7.7

To complain in a weak, whining voice

is more narrowly about childish feeble crying than speaking complaints
to mewl
vspuling
2 9.9

To cry in a small, weak voice like a kitten or baby

is more about childish, feeble complaining than simple plaintiveness
to pule
vspuling
  • Archaic
9.9

To cry in a small, weak voice

is focused on childish feebleness rather than just pitch or tone
to grizzle
vspuling
  • UK
8.2

To complain in a sulky, childish way about small things

is specifically about weak crying rather than general sulking or complaint
to cry like a pissbaby
vspuling
  • Offensive
9.9

To cry in a very childish way when upset

is milder and describes childish feebleness without coarse insult

Antonyms

laughing
1 1.0

Showing someone is smiling and making a happy sound

How Loud

wail
54 3.2
to sob
15 1.0
to whine
  • Informal
211 2.8
to whimper
69 3.3
puling
  • Archaic
9.8
to pule
  • Archaic
9.9

Surface Forms

puling positive

Morphology

puling = pule (transparent) = pule + ing

The addition of '-ing' to 'pule' follows standard English rules for forming adjectives from verbs.

Etymology

Puling comes from the old verb pule, which means 'to cry' or 'whine'. A helpful image is a small child making a thin, weak cry, and that is why puling describes a weak, childish way of complaining.