wail

C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /weɪl/ UK /weɪl/ See IPA manual

Homophones

wale /weɪl/ whale /weɪl/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like vail /v/ vs /w/ Sounds like veil /v/ vs /w/

verb noun

Meanings

1

verb
to give a prolonged high-pitched cry of grief or pain

The mourners began to wail as the coffin was lowered.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to give a prolonged... lament howl moan cry keen bawl sob weep

Opposites

laugh rejoice chuckle

Word family

Derived forms wailerwailingwailful

Related forms woe

Etymology

From Middle English wailen, from Old Norse væla ('to lament'), from vei ('woe'), an exclamation of grief.

væla Old Norse vei Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

# wail

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** weɪl
**IPA (UK):** weɪl

## Meanings
1. to give a prolonged high-pitched cry of grief or pain

## Examples
- The mourners began to wail as the coffin was lowered.

## Synonyms
- lament
- howl
- moan
- cry
- keen
- bawl
- sob
- weep

## Antonyms
- laugh
- rejoice
- chuckle

## Derived Forms
- wailer
- wailing
- wailful

## Related Forms
- woe

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: væla
- Root: vei

## Etymology
From Middle English wailen, from Old Norse væla ('to lament'), from vei ('woe'), an exclamation of grief.

## AI Etymology
Wail is from Middle English wailen, from Old Norse væla ('to lament'), from vei ('woe'), an exclamation of grief. Important recorded forms include væla (Old Norse) and vei (Old Norse). The current sense covers to give a prolonged high-pitched cry of grief or pain. The wider family includes derived forms such as wailer, wailing, and wailful and related words such as woe.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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wail

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