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wailing

/ˈweɪlɪŋ/

noun

A loud drawn out scream or howl.

“Craig ran off wailing because his friend pulled a prank on him.”

Similar

lamenting wailful sorrowful bawling

Less commonScrabble 11

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Meanings

nounwailing (plural wailings)

plural wailings

A loud drawn out scream or howl.
'For as soon as I heard Tewkesbury tell of screams and wailings in the air, and no one to be seen,' said Elzevir, 'I guessed that some poor soul had got shut in the vault, and was there crying for his life.
[1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, “The Rescue”, in Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC, page 69

verb

gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of wail
Craig ran off wailing because his friend pulled a prank on him.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivevocally expressing grief or sorrow or resembling such expression

Similar

lamenting wailful sorrowful

nounloud cries made while weeping

Similar

Broader

crying weeping tears

Also see

bawling lamenting ululation wailful

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From wail + -ing.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with wailing

mailing sailing failing scaling prevailing trailing whaling railing ailing grayling hailing bailing flailing baling paling waling plain sailing plain-sailing plane sailing quailing skraeling

Sounds the same

whaling waling whaling waling

Cite this entry

APA

wailing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wailing

MLA

“wailing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wailing. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wailing,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wailing.

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