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Glite Dictionary
sobbing

sobbing

69 1.0
Short gasping sounds someone makes while crying loudly
  • noun
  • /ˈsɑbɪŋ/
translation icon : sollozo
  • The child's sobbing echoed through the house, prompting her mother to rush into the room.
  • heard sobbing
  • hysterical sobbing
  • sobbing and crying

Examples

  • The angry shouting was followed by sobbing, as loud as the shouts at first and slowly quieting down.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • He'd heard her sobbing then, pleading, trying to get between her husband and her son.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • By late afternoon, her sobbing ended, and in the resulting calm, she saw the solution.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Looking over at his sobbing wife, he wished he could hold them both.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Frank is aware of a new noise, a gentle sobbing coming from nearby.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Many people "maintain their dignity" in public and then give way to sobbing or despair once removed from public view.

    Academic text (2003)

  • There are sounds of shock, muttering, and some sobbing in the restaurant.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The light has shifted across the city, and we hear only a muffled sobbing.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Far away on the edge of hearing came a vehement sobbing and wailing.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The boys assumed, when she served them supper sobbing, that she was wracked with guilt because of her absent-mindedness.

    Fiction book (1995)

Synonyms

cry
vssobbing
260 1.0

A time when someone has tears because they feel sad or upset

is specifically a noisy, gasping form within such sessions
sob
vssobbing
74 1.0

A short, noisy breath made when you cry

is a repeated series of convulsive gasps while shedding tears
wail
vssobbing
54 3.2

A long loud cry that shows pain or deep sadness

is shorter bursts of gasping cries rather than continuous sound
howling
vssobbing
47 4.1

A long loud cry that shows strong feeling

is centered on gasping breaths during tearful episodes
crying
vssobbing
38 1.0

Tears and sounds you make when you feel sad or hurt

is more convulsive and involves repeated gasping between tears
weeping
vssobbing
31 1.4

A time when someone cries with tears and sobs

is more physically convulsive, marked by gasping breaths
wailing
vssobbing
5 3.5

Loud long cries made when someone feels deep pain or sadness

is less prolonged but more fitful with convulsive gasps
bawling
vssobbing
4 3.5

Loud, noisy crying when someone is very upset

is more breathy and convulsive rather than simply very loud
effusion of tears
vssobbing
7.7

Tears that suddenly flow because of a strong feeling

focuses more on repeated gasping sounds than on tear volume

How Intense

wailing
5 3.5
sobbing
69 1.0
weeping
3.2
to sniffle
18 2.3

Surface Forms

sobbing singular
sobbings plural

Morphology

sobbing = sob (transparent) = sob + ing

A regular gerund/present-participle formation from the verb 'sob'; the noun denotes the action or sound of sobbing.

Etymology

Sobbing comes from the simple sound word sob, which began as an imitation of the short, gasping noise people make when they cry. So sobbing means 'to cry with short gasps' and points to that convulsive, noisy kind of crying.