as in to whimper
to utter feeble plaintive cries
the tiny kitten mewled for its mother
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Recent Examples of mewl
Their swollen limbs, skeletal frames, and mewling cries of desperation are what keep me awake at night.
—
Jennifer Furin, TIME, 19 Feb. 2025
Stray cats followed us around, mewling from hunger.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Henry has unexpectedly become a dad, and must deal with a screaming, mewling baby that resembles a small skinned animal.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2025
Tannahill, now jerked upside down, would mewl and scream and clamber down a wall.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023
That’s the music I was raised on: Morrissey’s mewling over beautiful, peppy Johnny Marr guitar parts.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2018
Somewhere in the dark of the room, a kitten mewled.
—James Queally and Anh Do, latimes.com, 9 Oct. 2017
The cats, which spent the first day mewling, have mellowed out.
—Warren Richey, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Sep. 2017
Jennifer Furin, TIME, 19 Feb. 2025
Stray cats followed us around, mewling from hunger.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Henry has unexpectedly become a dad, and must deal with a screaming, mewling baby that resembles a small skinned animal.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2025
Tannahill, now jerked upside down, would mewl and scream and clamber down a wall.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023
That’s the music I was raised on: Morrissey’s mewling over beautiful, peppy Johnny Marr guitar parts.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2018
Somewhere in the dark of the room, a kitten mewled.
—James Queally and Anh Do, latimes.com, 9 Oct. 2017
The cats, which spent the first day mewling, have mellowed out.
—Warren Richey, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mewl
Verb
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As the timer passed seven minutes, Steve Eckert exhorted a whimpering young man to dunk his head underwater.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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The three added their flowers to the memorial and embraced each other as Annie Guthrie appeared to softly whimper.—
Perry Vandell,
AZCentral.com,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Chuck went viral on social media after the NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast repeatedly showed him kicking, screaming and crying in family members’ arms — reacting to the family’s celebrations of Susac’s big day.—
Michael McGough,
Sacbee.com,
3 Apr. 2026
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Perhaps the path forward is not only for those holding the signs, but also for those who stop being spectators — like the young woman to my left on Saturday who suddenly began to cry, or the older woman who, after talking about blues music, felt the need to tell me that this is not good for anyone.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mewl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mewl. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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