lament

C2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ləˈmɛnt/ UK /ləˈmɛnt/ See IPA manual

Freq #22215

Meanings

1

verb
To express great sadness or regret about something.

Many people lament the loss of the old town centre.
2

noun
An expression of grief or deep sadness.

Her letter was a long lament about how lonely she felt.
3

noun
A song or poem expressing sorrow, especially for someone who has died.

The singer performed a haunting lament for the dead.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to express great sadness or... bemoan bewail deplore

2 noun · an expression of grief or... lamentation

3 noun · a song or poem expressing... elegy dirge requiem

More afterthinkbecrybegrievebemournbeweep condole elegize grievegrieven

Opposites

gladden

Word family

Forms lamentedlamentinglaments

Derived forms lamentaciouslamentfullamentless

Related forms lamentabilitylamentable lamentation lamentationslamentingsad sadden

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

elegiac lament
an expression of sorrow that mourns a person, time, or ideal that has been lost

Adjective + noun

Etymology

A back-formation from lamentation or else from Middle French lamenter and its etymon Latin lāmentor (“to wail, weep”), from lāmentum (“wailing, moaning, weeping”); with formative -mentum, from the root *la-, probably ultimately imitative. Also see latrare.

lamenter Middle French lāmentor Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# lament

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ləˈmɛnt/
**IPA (UK):** /ləˈmɛnt/
**Frequency rank:** 22215

## Meanings
1. To express great sadness or regret about something.
2. An expression of grief or deep sadness.
3. A song or poem expressing sorrow, especially for someone who has died.

## Examples
- Many people lament the loss of the old town centre.
- Her letter was a long lament about how lonely she felt.
- The singer performed a haunting lament for the dead.

## Synonyms
- afterthink
- becry
- begrieve
- bemoan
- bemourn
- bewail
- beweep
- condole
- deplore
- elegize
- grieve
- grieven

## Antonyms
- gladden

## Derived Forms
- lamentacious
- lamentful
- lamentless

## Related Forms
- lamentability
- lamentable
- lamentation
- lamentations
- lamenting
- sad
- sadden

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lamenter
- Root: lāmentor

## Etymology
A back-formation from lamentation or else from Middle French lamenter and its etymon Latin lāmentor (“to wail, weep”), from lāmentum (“wailing, moaning, weeping”); with formative -mentum, from the root *la-, probably ultimately imitative. Also see latrare.

## AI Etymology
Lament is a back-formation from lamentation or else from Middle French lamenter and its etymon Latin lāmentor (“to wail, weep”), from lāmentum (“wailing, moaning, weeping”); with formative -mentum, from the root *la-, probably ultimately imitative. Also see latrare. Important recorded forms include lamenter (Middle French) and lāmentor (Latin). Current senses include to express great sadness or regret about something and an expression of grief or deep sadness. The wider family includes derived forms such as lamentacious, lamentful, and lamentless; related words such as lamentability, lamentable, lamentation, and lamentations.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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