as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
the puppy's plaintive expression after we put the toy away was rather amusing
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plaintive
Stunted by the work of its actors, this plaintive vision of the Aymara people remains at a remove, stronger as a provocation on paper than as a morality tale on the screen.
—
Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 27 Nov. 2024
The unheard melody is unmistakably a plaintive one.
—April White, JSTOR Daily, 18 Nov. 2024
As Paddington, Ben Whishaw’s slightly plaintive voice merges seamlessly with Pablo Grillo’s furry animation.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2024
Coldplay, once skewered by critics for being too plaintive and self-pitying, was now broadcasting the opposite message: everything is magic.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for plaintive 
Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 27 Nov. 2024
The unheard melody is unmistakably a plaintive one.
—April White, JSTOR Daily, 18 Nov. 2024
As Paddington, Ben Whishaw’s slightly plaintive voice merges seamlessly with Pablo Grillo’s furry animation.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2024
Coldplay, once skewered by critics for being too plaintive and self-pitying, was now broadcasting the opposite message: everything is magic.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for plaintive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaintive
Adjective
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Outwardly glassy but mournful on the inside, the film is a fairly overt expression of grief — one that’s even more acute coming out just a year after 9/11.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2025
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Sunday's mournful cowboy funeral is attended only by his family, the bunkhouse crew, and three close friends.—
Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez,
The Indianapolis Star,
18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
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The funeral procession that climaxes Emilia Pérez is the damnedest, craziest thing since Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic minions draped kente cloth stoles over their shoulders and kneeled to canonize George Floyd at the Capitol.—
Armond White,
National Review,
29 Jan. 2025
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On Thursday, dozens of people took part in funeral prayers outside Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza city of Deir al Balah for people killed in Israeli strikes the day before.—
Wafaa Shurafa and Fatma Khaled,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Our community is heartbroken and our hearts go out to everyone that's been impacted.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
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La Plata Youth Soccer Association and FC Charles 1658 posted on social media applauding his support for their teams and expressing how heartbroken the community was.—
Kinsey Crowley,
USA TODAY,
4 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Officially, the Black Chamber didn’t exist until 1931, when its founder, Yardley—bitter after an abrupt dismissal—decided to expose it to the world in a tell-all book titled The American Black Chamber.—
Peter Zablocki,
Smithsonian Magazine,
4 Feb. 2025
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An article from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website said strychnine is a white, odorless, bitter crystalline powder mainly used as a pesticide, particularly used to kill rats.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
31 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near plaintive
Cite this Entry
“Plaintive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintive. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
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