bawl C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes US /bɔl/ UK /bɔːl/ See IPA manual Homophones ball /bɔl/ Meanings 1 verb to weep or shout loudly and unrestrainedly The toddler began to bawl when his balloon burst. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to weep or shout loudly and... wailhowlsobweepshoutyellbellow ↔ Opposites whisper Word family Derived forms bawlerbawling Etymology AI details Probably from Old Norse baula ('to low like a cow') or Medieval Latin baulare ('to bark'); ultimately imitative. baula Old Norse baul onomatopoeic View etymology graph -> Topics Actions & Processes External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # bawl **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /bɔl/ **IPA (UK):** /bɔːl/ ## Meanings 1. to weep or shout loudly and unrestrainedly ## Examples - The toddler began to bawl when his balloon burst. ## Synonyms - wail - howl - sob - weep - shout - yell - bellow ## Antonyms - whisper ## Derived Forms - bawler - bawling ## Roots and Affixes - Root: baula - Root: baul ## Etymology Probably from Old Norse baula ('to low like a cow') or Medieval Latin baulare ('to bark'); ultimately imitative. ## AI Etymology bawl is probably from Old Norse baula ('to low like a cow') or Medieval Latin baulare ('to bark'); ultimately imitative. The explanation preserves that uncertainty: the proposed comparisons illuminate the form, but they do not turn the word into a securely traced inheritance or borrowing. In modern use, the verb sense is "to weep or shout loudly and unrestrainedly", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes derivatives such as bawler, bawling, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Old Norse baula, onomatopoeic baul, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material. ## Topics - Actions & Processes markdown