1
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
a plangent, haunting song about a long-ago love
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in loud
marked by a high volume of sound
plangent organ music filled the church
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in ringing
marked by conspicuously full and rich sounds or tones
the strong, plangent tones of a Louis Armstrong trumpet solo
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plangent
That deft level of craft is maintained throughout, while the aching musical bed by contemporary composer Nico Muhly adds just the right tone of plangent despair tinged with hope.
—
Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, that warhorse of English traditionalism, is mentioned six times, and his plangent music—invoking a lost, idyllic England; a greener, more pleasant land—could easily be the novel’s soundtrack.
—Charles McGrath, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2024
The Tokyo composer and guitarist riffs on themes of real and imagined memories and the passage of time in plangent compositions replete with airy tones, childlike melodies, and molasses-thick smears of resonant harmony.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 6 Oct. 2023
Indeed the music, with its banging, techno-style beats looped against plangent piano, analogizes Jamal’s predicament rather perfectly.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 25 Mar. 2023
The piercing sense of place that Samuel D. Hunter brings to his work, the majority of it set in his home state of Idaho, has perhaps never been accompanied by such plangent notes of sorrow as in his new play, Greater Clements.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2019
Image The pool party is a squirmy tour de force embellished with a punctuating zoom and a plangent sense of dread that make Kayla’s isolation feel like alienation.
—Bo Burnham, New York Times, 11 July 2018
Though a handful of tracks feature plangent cello by Katinka Kleijn (a member of the CSO and ICE), who shades the chord changes and enriches the interplay, most of the album is just two guitars ringing out with relaxed, natural beauty.
—Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader, 12 Oct. 2017
Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, that warhorse of English traditionalism, is mentioned six times, and his plangent music—invoking a lost, idyllic England; a greener, more pleasant land—could easily be the novel’s soundtrack.
—Charles McGrath, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2024
The Tokyo composer and guitarist riffs on themes of real and imagined memories and the passage of time in plangent compositions replete with airy tones, childlike melodies, and molasses-thick smears of resonant harmony.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 6 Oct. 2023
Indeed the music, with its banging, techno-style beats looped against plangent piano, analogizes Jamal’s predicament rather perfectly.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 25 Mar. 2023
The piercing sense of place that Samuel D. Hunter brings to his work, the majority of it set in his home state of Idaho, has perhaps never been accompanied by such plangent notes of sorrow as in his new play, Greater Clements.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2019
Image The pool party is a squirmy tour de force embellished with a punctuating zoom and a plangent sense of dread that make Kayla’s isolation feel like alienation.
—Bo Burnham, New York Times, 11 July 2018
Though a handful of tracks feature plangent cello by Katinka Kleijn (a member of the CSO and ICE), who shades the chord changes and enriches the interplay, most of the album is just two guitars ringing out with relaxed, natural beauty.
—Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader, 12 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plangent
Adjective
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Brown’s sound design mixes Sousa-like military fanfares with mournful underscoring for Lavinia’s tragedy, neither of which has much to do with Kidwell’s preshow music.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Feb. 2025
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Chaos quickly unfolds when the bickering, different-strokes twins find the calamitous heirloom—although Perkins keeps the first act mostly mournful, as the boys struggle with the onslaught of death around them.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In the new court filing, phone records show Mortensen tried calling the other four roommates – but got no response – around the time when security camera from a residence close to the home picked up at 4:17 a.m. distorted audio of voices, a whimper, followed by a loud thud, and a barking dog.—
Lauren del Valle,
CNN,
7 Mar. 2025
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At a festival where the moviegoers at Austin’s Paramount Theatre on Congress Avenue scream as loud as those at a Harry Styles concert, look for the Motion Picture Association to create waves.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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But with a will Strike all your harps and set them ringing; On hill and heath Let every breath Throw all its power into singing!—
Vinson Cunningham,
The New Yorker,
25 Dec. 2024
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His ringing, carefree laugh mixed with soaring rhetoric about democracy, working families and hope.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Aug. 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 genteel tranquility of his $10 million estate is shattered by the deafening scream of jet traffic with the regularity of commercial airline schedules.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
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Zoom out: While these protests may be vociferous, there's an equally deafening volume of grievances the SEC sees.—
Hope King,
Axios,
28 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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However, the round imprints of tl\e big cougar we’re melted and indistinct.—
Frank C. Hibben,
Outdoor Life,
27 Feb. 2025
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In the end, Herro became the fifth Heat player to win the 3-point contest with a final round score of 24.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
16 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Now the family is grappling with funeral arrangements for the young woman.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
2 Mar. 2025
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Their son Donny attended to all of the funeral arrangements with the help of his wife Jan, a nurse, and his daughters Andrea and Alicia.—
Phil Potempa,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Then there are the vitriolic anonymous posts that take on the shrill tone and tenor of a schoolyard back and forth.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Mar. 2025
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Shakespeare’s play assumes the shrieks and shrill cries of a B-movie.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plangent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plangent. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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