plaintive en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈpleɪntɪv/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Middle English pleintif, plentyff, from Old French pleintif (“aggrieved, lamenting”) (whence modern French plaintif), from plainte (“lament, complaint”); see plaint. Doublet of plaintiff.
Meanings
-
Sounding sorrowful, mournful or melancholic.
I can see by your plaintive smile something is wrong, so spill it.
a typically plaintive song from Radiohead
When my wife and I heard a plaintive whinny from our laundry room the other day, we knew that our old dryer had cycled its last load.
2026 January 16, Danny Heitman, “An empty nester’s ode to the cycles of laundry – and life”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most plaintive | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more plaintive | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
plaintively · unplaintive · plaintiveness
Relateds
Synonyms
crestfallen · bleak · querulous · depressed · dark · despondent · forlorn · uncheerful · threnetic · downsome · grieving · dejected · cheerless · sombre · unhappy · Plutonic · gloomy · ruthful · shattered · lumpish · morose · woeful · low-spirited · mirthless · dismal · disgruntled · dire · sombre · uncheery · downhearted · spiritless · melancholy · solemn · saturnine · disconsolate · depressing · unhappy · dismal · Plutonian · dispirited · downcast · gray · miserable · lack-laughter · gloomy · unconsolable · heavy-hearted · sunless · comfortless · jawfallen · joyless · wintry · spiritless · grim · saturnine · desolate · dreich · joyless · grief-stricken · unlively · chopfallen · dolesome · disheartened · lugubrious · mournful · miserable · forlorn · mopey · melancholy · atrabilious · dull · doleful · dreary · dolesome · elegious · lugubrious · lamentful · gloomsome · sullen · somber · passionate · disconsolate · woe · atrabiliary · sad · low · tristful · blitheless · inconsolable · glum · sorrow-ridden · sorrowful · infelicitous · heartsick · lachrymose · sorrowsome · down in the mouth · doleful · no joke · chapfallen · unhappy · bummed out · woebegone · triste · damp · sullen · blue · wistful · drear · woeful · unmerry · miserable · uncheery · plaintive · cut up · melancholic · drearisome · down in the dumps · heartsore · wretched · uncheerful · gayless · morose · threnetical · moody · elegiac · saddened · solemn · cheerless · down
Translations (24)
de wehleidig (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · cs plačtivý (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · ga truacánta (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · es melancólico (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · es morriñoso (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · de Klage- (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · ru го́рестный (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · es nostálgico (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · gd tiamhaidh (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · bg жален (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · es lagrimal (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · es triste (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · mi tīkapa (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · es lastimero (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · ka საცოდავი (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · de klagend (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · ca planyívol (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · es quejumbroso (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · de traurig (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · es plañidero (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · uk жалібний (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · it querulo (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · ga acaointeach (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic) · bg тъжен (Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic)