LAMENTATION Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

lamentation

noun

ˌla-mən-ˈtā-shən

Definition of lamentation

as in wail

a crying out in grief there was a great lamentation on Wall Street when the government's latest unemployment figures were published

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of lamentation These rock lamentations will not be carried over to the full-length album the band still has in the works, which Bono promises will have a more joyful tone. — Chris Willman, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026 The album’s Bandcamp blurb shouts out Ghédalia Tarzatès, the late French composer who collaged his wails and lamentations in the endangered Ladino language to evoke pangs of existential angst. — H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026 The ghetto is full of lamentation. — Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2026 The space was replete with the repetitive knocking of drumsticks, the undulating rhythm of Qur’anic prayers, and the gut-wrenching murmur of lamentation coming from That is not still (Sesuatu yang tidak berdiam), a 2024 video work about Indonesia’s diverse soundscape. — Hung Duong, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lamentation

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lamentation

Noun

Feverish with feeling, the women scream, wail and sob, each one experiencing her misery multiply in real time as the remaining two look on in disdain.

— Natalia Winkelman, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
Geddy Lee, Rush No bassist’s singing voice has ever created a more pronounced contrast with his instrument than Rush’s Geddy Lee, who moved the piercing wail of influences like Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant up another octave.

— Al Shipley, SPIN, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of wail

Noun

Messi added a fitting score — his 126th career goal for Argentina on a penalty kick in the 70th minute to set off collective chanting of the beloved icon’s name and more tears.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026
In the other van, Gen cries tears of pride and fulfillment after Aesha and Nathan praise her performance in the last charter.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of tears

Noun

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declared three days of mourning and directed flags to be flown at half-staff throughout the country to mourn the victims.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
In a tragedy that would lead to national mourning, the country’s most popular singer, Marília Mendonça, died in a plane crash that also took the lives of four other people.

— Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of mourning

Noun

Williams intermittently cuts to ominous exterior shots of a dark church and layers in a score of hymnal lament.

— Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 15 Sep. 2026
That ambiguity is echoed in Banks’ score, which takes on the tone of a lament and a celebration, frustration and hope, struggle and liberation, the quest for transcendence in the face of the challenges posed by daunting inequities.

— George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of lament

Noun

Body camera footage showed Flynn weeping, covering his face, and rocking back and forth as police searched his home.

— Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
When the curtain went up, Valencia spent the first several minutes overcome by emotion, glassy-eyed and weeping.

— Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of weeping

Noun

With every whimper, sigh, howl, bark and head tilt, these dogs create an empathetic portrayal of a highly intelligent creature that has been through battle and has the scars (and nightmares) to prove it.

— Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
The howls of outrage from an undisclosed location in Europe reached our shores.

— Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of howl

Browse Nearby Words

lamentably

lamentation

lamentations

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Style

“Lamentation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lamentation. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of lamentation

noun

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