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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Recent Examples of plaintive
The movie whose theme song was a minimalist, plaintive DUH-DUN ended up striking a major chord with its cinematic production design.
—
Michael Martin, Architectural Digest, 23 June 2025
Crickets and frogs and the plaintive call of the poorwill can also add intrigue to the darkness.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2025
Hayakawa is a plaintive storyteller who refuses to indulge in emotional cheats of any kind, and would rather a scene be impenetrably oblique than overexplain its purpose.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 19 May 2025
His voice is very high and plaintive.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for plaintive
Michael Martin, Architectural Digest, 23 June 2025
Crickets and frogs and the plaintive call of the poorwill can also add intrigue to the darkness.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2025
Hayakawa is a plaintive storyteller who refuses to indulge in emotional cheats of any kind, and would rather a scene be impenetrably oblique than overexplain its purpose.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 19 May 2025
His voice is very high and plaintive.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for plaintive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaintive
Adjective
-
Her powerhouse voice, singing intensely sad words, was piercing, clarion, mournful, and hopeful, all at once.—
Shaad D’Souza,
Pitchfork,
18 Sep. 2025
-
The backstory for the maze follows the mournful tale of Mary Worth after the tragic death of her family.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
-
The necklace has accessorized past funeral attire for the Princess of Wales.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Many other members of the royal family were among the funeral attendees, including Princess Anne and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence, Sophie the Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.—
Stephanie Petit,
PEOPLE,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
And utterly heartbroken for Charlie’s young family.—
Amanda Castro
Gabe Whisnant
Anna Commander
Toby Meyjes
Shane Croucher
John Feng
Joshua Rhett Miller,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The woman noted that canceling the shower has left her heartbroken.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Parsley is a biennial that quickly bolts and dies the second year, and since second-year parsley is bitter, it’s typically grown as an annual.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
14 Sep. 2025
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Whenever these bitter rivals have met in recent years, there has never been a shortage of offense.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plaintive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintive. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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