bewail C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings US /bɪˈweɪl/ UK /bɪˈweɪl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 verb to express great sorrow or lamentation over something The poet bewailed the loss of his youth in elegiac verse. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to express great sorrow or... lamentmournbemoandeploregrieverue ↔ Opposites rejoicecelebrate Word family Derived forms bewailerbewailing Related forms wail Etymology AI details From be- (intensive) + wail, from Middle English wailen, probably from Old Norse væla ('to wail'), of imitative origin. be- Old English væla Old Norse View etymology graph -> Topics Emotions & Feelings External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # bewail **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /bɪˈweɪl/ **IPA (UK):** /bɪˈweɪl/ ## Meanings 1. to express great sorrow or lamentation over something ## Examples - The poet bewailed the loss of his youth in elegiac verse. ## Synonyms - lament - mourn - bemoan - deplore - grieve - rue ## Antonyms - rejoice - celebrate ## Derived Forms - bewailer - bewailing ## Related Forms - wail ## Roots and Affixes - Root: be- - Root: væla ## Etymology From be- (intensive) + wail, from Middle English wailen, probably from Old Norse væla ('to wail'), of imitative origin. ## AI Etymology Bewail is from be- (intensive) + wail, from Middle English wailen, probably from Old Norse væla ('to wail'), of imitative origin. In present-day use, it means to express great sorrow or lamentation over something. Derived formations include bewailer and bewailing. Related vocabulary includes wail. ## Topics - Emotions & Feelings markdown