as in to complain
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
like many kids during summer vacation, they were caterwauling about the lack of things to do
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for caterwaul
Verb
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Even Hakimi didn't complain, instead giving van de Ven a dap of respect.
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The document complains about trade, customs officers, juryless courts, and judges’ salaries.
Noun
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On the floor, hundreds of people convulse to Blanco Teta’s ravenous yowls and monster-truck basslines off their July album La debacle de las divas.
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Now fans can get a closer look at the man behind the pitch-perfect yowl, the pencil mustache and the flawless pompadour.
Verb
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Police said that after the girl screamed, the video shows a man getting into his vehicle and driving away.
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The couple’s relationship began with a friendship bracelet and a podcast shout-out in July 2023, and by September Swift was screaming profanities in support of her new favorite football player.
Noun
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Equally notable throughout the game was the angry screech, reserved for whenever the Czech Republic players had the ball — or worse — were given a free kick.
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Guests range from ordinary commuters to figures like Cate Blanchett and Julian Casablancas, all subject to the same fluorescent lighting and ambient subway screech.
Verb
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And that’s nothing to whine about.
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Jessie whines about the good old days all the time — how fun is that?
Noun
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Many American poets have written hymns and howls, declarations and outcries for this country that brims with so many people, and so many hopes, from all over the world.
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The engine delivers a deep, purposeful hum rather than an all-out howl as the gears disappear in quick succession.
Verb
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The call lasted for 12 excruciating minutes, as Adams moaned in pain.
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Witnesses who observed those executions later shared unnerving, and, at times, horrific, accounts of inmates thrashing, moaning, or otherwise appearing to show signs of suffering after the nitrogen gas began to flow.
Noun
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Air traffic control at Heathrow cleared the flight for a priority return after the pilots issued a squawk 7700 — the code for a general emergency.
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He was missed — especially vocally — since Gill’s angelic voice does not, in any way shape or form, resemble Walsh’s charmingly out-of-pitch squawk-talk style.
Cite this Entry
“Caterwaul.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caterwaul. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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