plaintive

P3L1A1I1N1T1I1V4E1
/ˈpleɪntɪv/

adjective

Sounding sorrowful, mournful or melancholic.

“a typically plaintive song from Radiohead”

Similar
miserableunhappycheerlesscomfortlessbleakdarkmorosedepressing
OriginMiddle English pleintif ← Old French pleintif →
UncommonScrabble 14
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Meanings

adjectiveplaintive (comparative more plaintive, superlative most plaintive)

comparative more plaintive · superlative most plaintive

  1. Sounding sorrowful, mournful or melancholic.

    a typically plaintive song from Radiohead

    2 more examples

    I can see by your plaintive smile something is wrong, so spill it.

    When my wife and I heard a plaintive whinny from our laundry room the other day, we knew that our old dryer had cycled its last load.

    2026 January 16, Danny Heitman, “An empty nester’s ode to the cycles of laundry – and life”, in The Christian Science Monitor

    Synonyms: miserable, unhappy, cheerless, comfortless, bleak, dark, morose, depressing

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveSounding sorrowful, mournful or melancholic.

Similar
miserableunhappycheerlesscomfortlessbleakdarkmorosedepressingdesolatediredisconsolatedismaldolefuldolesomedreardrearisomedrearydreichforlorngayless

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveexpressing sorrow

Similar
mournfulsorrowful
Also see
mournfulsadwailsome

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Frenchpleintif“aggrieved, lamenting”
  2. Middle Englishpleintif
  3. Englishplaintive

From Middle English pleintif, plentyff, from Old French pleintif (“aggrieved, lamenting”) (whence modern French plaintif), from plainte (“lament, complaint”); see plaint. Doublet of plaintiff.

More words from Middle English, Old French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian тъжен, жален
  • тъжен (tăžen)Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic
  • жален (žalen)Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic
Catalan planyívol
  • planyívolSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
Czech plačtivý
  • plačtivýSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
German traurig, wehleidig
  • traurigSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
  • wehleidigSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
  • klagendSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
  • Klage-Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic
Irish acaointeach, truacánta
  • acaointeachSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
  • truacántaSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
Italian querulo
  • queruloSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
Māori tīkapa
  • tīkapaSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
Russian го́рестный
  • го́рестный (górestnyj)Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic
Scottish Gaelic tiamhaidh
  • tiamhaidhSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
Spanish morriñoso, melancólico
  • morriñosoSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
  • melancólicoSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
  • tristeSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
  • nostálgicoSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
  • lastimeroSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
  • quejumbrosoSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
  • lagrimalSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
  • plañideroSorrowful, mournful or melancholic
Ukrainian жалібний
  • жалібний (žalibnyj)Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic
Cite this entry
APA

plaintive. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plaintive

MLA

“plaintive.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plaintive. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “plaintive,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plaintive.

Source: plaintive on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.