wail
IPA: wˈeɪɫ
noun
- A prolonged cry, usually high-pitched, especially as of grief or anguish.
- Any similar sound as of lamentation; a howl.
- A sound made by emergency vehicle sirens, contrasted with "yelp" which is higher-pitched and faster.
verb
- (intransitive) To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish.
- (intransitive) To weep, lament persistently or bitterly.
- (intransitive) To make a noise like mourning or crying.
- (transitive) To lament; to bewail; to grieve over.
- (slang, music) To perform with great liveliness and force.
- (obsolete) Synonym of wale (“to choose; to select”)
Examples of "wail" in Sentences
- Sirens wailed at 10 a.m.
- The girl wailed for losing the game.
- They aren't too happy and begin wailing.
- As hundreds wail, the victim's ashes immersed.
- I was crying and wailing and gnashing my teeth.
- In the background, the police siren is still wailing.
- The monster's cry was like a screeching wail of horror.
- The sinners, who fall into it, wail with pain and fright.
- The party is disturbed by a plaintive wailing from outside.
- The cry and wail of the devotee is covered with loud trumpeting.
- We were interrupted in our reflections by a wail from the Russian courier who found himself in a curious dilemma.
- Her potatoes spilled over the deck, while a wail from the front of the boat announced that one of the babies had bumped, too.
- Their every impulse, from their very first wail, is to dominate, and by dominating, compel us to become their servants in turn.
- Chalmers “wales” a psalm, in every sense of the word wail, to the most doleful of dismal tunes; they read a chapter round, and he prays.
- To wail is to (1) express sorrow audibly (Lament); (2) to make a soundsuggestive of a mournful cry; (3) to express dissatisfaction plaintively: tocomplain.
- While it won't exactly match the classic high-pitched wail from the show, the producer says Gordon-Levitt will leave his own vocal stamp on Cobra Commander.
- Allusions to Antiguan slave trading and the cultural and economic imperialism that have enriched the Bertram clan are made explicit in Patricia Rozema's 1999 film — largely in the opening and the closing credit sequence, which feature African singers in a kind of wail from the sea.
- She's run away, said Jeanie, afraid not to be believed – and then the commotion was increased by a wail from the mother, who sank in a state of collapse into her large chair, and by the rush of Marg'ret from the kitchen, who perceiving what had happened flew to give the necessary help.
- I can't quite describe the level of annoyance that the bald business guru brings to a room of gentle drinkers, trying to enjoy themselves while the rest of the populace is at work, but a sudden wail from a man in the far corner, similar to that of a small dog yanked forcefully by the tail, alerts everyone that something is terribly wrong.